You can run, but you can't hide
by Hilaryh25
Summary: Valarie Clarke spent her whole life running from her past, but what happens when the past catches up to her? Follow her story as she joins the Phoenix Foundation, catches bad guys, and falls for her teammate while trying to keep her secret. 2016 version of Macgyver.
1. Chapter 1

**You can run, but you can't hide**

 **Okay so this popped into my head just the other day and I decided to go ahead and type it. I looked and the fanfic for this show is slim but this story in my head is bugging me so if I don't write it I'll go crazy. So I really hope you enjoy this**

 **Mac POV...**

I walked out my front then locked it as and herd a car pull up. I turned and saw Jack zooming up the driveway honking his horn then stopped as I got close to the car, "Yes, yes! What up, braniac?" He asked me getting out and I saw Bozer's robot sitting in the passenger seat

"What up?" I asked and stood in front of Jack, "Bozer was right."

"Huh?" Jack asked me confused

"Sparky's gunning for my job."

"Uh, no, man. Nobody wants your job. It-it kind of sucks. I'm just robot-sitting for Bozer while he's on the mend. We just got back. Where you off to now?" He asked me indicating to my bag

"Yeah, I'm, uh, I'm gonna go find my dad."

"Sounds good, I got nothing going on anyway. Here, give me this." He says and grabbed my bag then threw it in the back of his car, "Not taking no for an answer, I'll drive. Get in the backseat, Tin Man." He tells the robot

"You are aware I cannot yet walk."

"You can take shotgun." Jack says to him

"You sure you want to take him?" I asked Jack

"Well, Sparky deserves a good road trip. I mean, he did save Bozer's life, with that annoying call for help. Besides, this whip doesn't have a GPS, and Robocop's pretty good at poker. For when we want to hit Vegas."

"Vegas is not on the way." I tell Jack

"Vegas is always on the way, dude." He says moving his seat forward for me, I sighed then got in the back, "What kind of road trip doesn't involve Vegas?"

"You might want to consider fastening your seat-belt, MacGyver. Safety belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to rear occupants by 45%." Sparky informed me

"There is an on/off switch on this thing, right?" Jack asked me

"Oh, yeah."

"Viva Las Vegas. Here we come." Jack says and our phones go off, "Ah come on man!" He groaned then I pulled out my phone reading the message from Matty.

"Calm down, she said it's just a quick meeting."

"Yeah well we both know that no meeting with Matty is ever quick." Jack said and put the car in reverse.

* * *

We get to the Phoenix Foundation and walked into the briefing room seeing Matty standing there with Riley and another girl who we didn't know, "Nice of you to finally join us you two." Matty says to us and Jack raised his hands up in question looking at me but I just shrugged, "Dalton, Macgyver this is Valarie Clarke," Matty introduced and the girl gave a small smile, "She is going to be joining our team."

"Wait joining? Like until Bozer gets back?" Jack asked Matty

"No Jack joining as in an additional member to the team." Matty says and I saw Valarie smile a little and I couldn't help but smirk as well, "She's a former Delta Ranger and transferred here from Homeland Security." Matty informed us and I looked at Valarie confused.

"Well um..welcome to the team." I tell her reaching my hand out and she took it shaking it but I when she touched my hand I felt something, like a spark or whatever. I brushed it off as we let go and Jack walked over to her.

"Yes nice to meet you, welcome. Now if you don't mind me asking, why go from Delta Ranger to Homeland Security to a private organization that nobody knows about?"

"Well to completely honest I got bored at Homeland just sitting at a desk and I want something where I can help make a difference and since the Rangers won't take me back Matty recruited me here." Valarie tells him and we all shared a look

"Why wouldn't the Rangers take you back?" I asked her

"That's a story for another time Blondie," Matty tells us and Valarie looked at her, "But for now, as promised you have some time off. So I suggest you go before I change my mind." Matty says and Valarie chuckled

"Alright Mac you hear the lady, let's go." Jack tells me and I give one last look to Valarie before walking out with him, "Can you believe that? Another team member?" Jack asked as we walked through the halls

"Yeah, it's crazy."

"I know. I was just getting used to Bozer." He says and I smiled as we walked out.

 **2 weeks later...**

 _103 miles off the coast of Florida, there's an island that'll always hold - a special place in my heart. Now, everyone loves the landscape, the food, the music. But what I love most are the people. The Cubans learned how to make do with what they had. And maybe that simplicity of life is why everybody seems so happy here. Well, almost everybody._

The man that has me and Jack tied up punched me in the face...again and I leaned back a little holding in how much it hurt, "You keep punching on the kid, I'm gonna get jealous over here. Where's the love?" Jack asked him and the man moved behind me to him, "And you swing like a little girl." Jack says and I hear him get punched, "Oh! Yeah, that was more manly."

"Mira! Why are you looking for this man, huh?" The man asked and I can only assume he was holding up the picture we had of Murdoc. About 2 weeks ago we got word that Murdoc escaped and was on the run again.

"He's dating my sister." Jack tells him and I rolled my eyes as the man punched him, "Oh! - Oh, my cousin?" Jack asked and gets punched again, "Mi madre?" punched again, only Jack

"Okay, papa. Since you don't seem to know nothing, huh, perhaps I go back to your friend" The man tells him talking about me then as I see out the corner of my that the guy was getting near me I hear Jack start to laugh, "What's so funny, huh?" He asked Jack moving back over to him, "Jack! What's so funny, huh?" He asked again then Jack grabbed him and hit him in the face with his head and the guy falls down

"You know, you could've hit him with your fist." I tell Jack

"I know, but a headbutt sends a much clearer message. Besides, I was only taking all those punches to give your big, swollen brain enough time to figure this out." He says standing up and undoing my hands

"Which I did. You're welcome." I said taking the rope off and stood up

"Yeah, well, it took you long enough."

"Next time, you make a blade out of a button." I tell him holding up the broken button I used to cut his hands free

"Maybe I will." Jack says sarcastically then moved over to the guy, "Hey. Hey, cowboy. Wakey-wakey. Oy! My turn, sweetheart." He says and grabbed the picture, "Listen up, now. This lunatic tried to kill us, so we locked him up. So he sent another lunatic to trash our headquarters and stab our friend. You listening?" He asked smacking the picture on the guys head, "And then just when we thought we were done with this wannabe super-villain, he eats half of Paradise Lost to fake his own death and escape from supermax. So, as you can imagine, we'd like to have a little word with him about that."

"Hey," I said and knelt down next to Jack, "We know Murdoc was here. Where is he?"

* * *

"Buenas dias!" Jack yells after kicking the door in, "You Miguel?" He asked and the guy who then began to run away, "Hey, where you going? We just want to have a little chat." Jack yells and the guy got in a convertible and drove off as we ran over to him but he got away "Now what?" Jack asked and I looked at an old motorcycle sitting there with a side car

"This, right here." I tell him running over to it

"Oh, come on, man. What are we supposed to do with this?"

"Well, as long as it runs, right? Get it going." I said running over to a work bench grabbing a few tings then headed back over to the bike Jack was trying to start.

"Be honest. This is what your heaven looks like, isn't it?"

"This is Cuba, Jack. Everything's improvised." I tell him and the bike started

"Whoo!" I get in the side car while Jack climbs on the bike, "Say your prayers, Jack's driving." He says and takes off to follow the car, "Mueve tu trasero! Move! Out of the way! Move!" Jack tells the people on the streets as I began working with the items I gathered up. The car turns down a few streets and Jack follows until we get to a highway. I take the pipe, chain, road flare propellant and the steal rod I had and made a grappling hook then shot it at the car hooking onto it. Then I took the other end of the chain and put it around the wheel Axel of the side car bringing us closer to the car the guy was in then got up and climbed into it as the guy pulled out a gun to shoot me but I moved his hand and dodged it

"Hey! Jack! Hit the brakes!" I yell to him trying to hold back the guys arm

"What?"

"I said, hit the brakes!" I tell him again

"Brakes? What brakes?!"

"Ah, crap! This is gonna hurt!" I pointed out as we saw the side of the bridge getting closer but then suddenly the tires of the car popped and we skidded a little as Jack rolled off the bike then another car pulled up in front of us and Valarie got out pointing her gun at the driver of the car I was in.

"I leave you two alone for 5 minutes and you get into a car chase without me." She says with a smile and I chuckled a little as Jack walked over and grabbed the guy.

"Hey Valarie, not that I don't appreciate the whole "stopping us before we went overboard thing" but could you have made my landing a little softer?" He asked her holding onto the guy.

"Sorry Jack, next time I hot wire a car, steal some nails from a tool box on the back of a truck and pop the bad guys tires so that you don't plummet into the ocean I'll make sure there's a nice pile of feather pillows lined up for you." She says sarcastically and I smiled

"I'm just saying...that hurt a little."

"Oh man up Jack, that can't be the worse thing that's happened to you." She says to him and he looked between us.

"Did you tell her about Cairo?" Jack asked me and I looked at Val who was trying to hold back a smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I tell him and he looked back at her

"Ok, later we are having a discussion about this but for now, let's see what our friend here knows." Jack indicated to the guy leading him over to the side walk.

"You hot-wired a car?" I asked Val and she smiles, there was something about that smile that made my heart race.

"Eh, wasn't the first time." She tells me and walked over to Jack.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Look who's better already." Mac says to Bozer as we walked over to him and Riley giving him a hug as Riley hugged Jack and I just stood there.

"Yeah. It'll take more than a knife-wielding psychopath to stop me. I mean, not much more, but."

"How was Cuba?" Riley asked us

"No bueno. I mean, our Intel was half-right. Miguel did help Murdoc get into the country, but he was just picking up some cash he had hidden, and then he disappeared again." Mac told her and I kind of shifted

"Minor setback aside, I did get to, uh, pick up a box of these bad boys." Jack says holding up a box, What do you say, hero cigar?" Jack asked Bozer

"Uh, thanks, Jack, but the last time I smoked a cigar, I nearly threw up. I'm good."

"Thank you." Riley says and grabbed one

"I knew I should have asked the girl first." Jack says and held the box up to me but I declined as Bozer smacked the box, "Oh, you're gonna end up back in that wheelchair, bubba."

* * *

"Mac, is that the watch?" Bozer asked him and I looked over Mac's shoulder from behind him in the back seat

"The watch?" I asked confused

"That watch changed Mac's life. It's the reason he fell in love with building stuff. It was his father's." Bozer tells me and I looked back at the watch.

"My first real memory of my dad, actually, was him popping this thing open. He used to explain all the little parts The cogs, the springs, the gears They all come together to make something greater."

"He didn't keister that thing, did he?" Jack asked and I rolled my eyes

"Jack" Riley warned

"That was a movie." I point out

"That was a good question." Jack says

"No, it wasn't." Bozer tells him

"Anyways, with this watch, my dad taught me that, with the right parts, you could make anything. Even time. And it was about the only thing he took with him when he left." Mac explained

"So you found his watch, but not him?" I asked him and he glanced back at me

"Well, we-we tracked him from his last known location to a hostel in Barcelona, then to a crash-pad in Kiev, which led to a cabin in Patagonia." Jack tells us

"Which is where we found this." Mac held up his hand with the watch on it

"Yeah, and then that's when Matty called us back in to deal with this pain in our ass, Murdoc." Jack says and I tensed a little

"Your dad loved that watch. It's hard to imagine him leaving it behind." Bozer pointed out

"Yeah, I know. When we just weren't talking, that was one thing. But now I mean, not knowing where he is, it's.."

"Yeah. My dad's not winning any "Father of the Year" awards either." Riley says in agreement, "But if he just disappeared, you think something happened to him?" She asked him

"I don't know. That's the worst part of it. It always has been. When I was a kid, I used to wish I would find out that he up and left, started a new family somewhere, so at least I'd have an answer. But now all I have are questions." Mac says and I looked out the window and heard Mac's phone chime, "Jack, turn the car around. Matty needs us."

* * *

"I know that everything we do here is highly classified, but what we're about to discuss does not leave this room." Matty says to us walking into the room with another woman following her, "Clear?"

"But-but isn't that what "highly classified" means?" Jack asked and I rolled my eyes

"Jack" Matty warned

"Okay, if we say yes, will you tell us who she is?" Jack asked her

"Samantha Cage, CIA." the woman tells us

"The accent says otherwise." Jack pointed out

"I was SAS 4-Squadron before the CIA offered me a job."

"4-Squadron? That's the covert ops unit of Australian Intelligence, yeah?" Mac asked her

"That's right."

"I'm impressed." Bozer says

"You don't even know what that is, Bozer." I tell him

"True. But it sounds secret agent-y."

"Agent Cage's specialty is intel extraction. What Riley can do to a computer, she can do to a suspect. Hack their hard drive." Matty tells us

"Oh, that's adorable. But yours truly is already well-trained at interrogating hostiles as well as this one over here," Jack says indicating to me, "If I need info out of somebody who's being stubborn, I can usually just rearrange their face."

"Oh, that's adorable, but, you see, I prefer methods that actually work."

"Such as?" I asked her

"Let's just say I can be your best friend or your worst nightmare." Cage says and I nod in approval

"I like her." I said and both her and Mac smiled at me. I glanced at him and gave a small one back, I didn't know what it was about him but whenever I saw him my heart raced a little.

"So why are you here?" Bozer asked her defensively and we all looked at him, "Hey, the last time Matty introduced us to a new face in the Phoenix, I wound up with 20 stitches. What's this about?"

"Two years ago, I sent a SEAL team on a classified mission to the Middle East. Mission went sideways, team was ambushed. Everyone got out, except one," Cage tells us and Matty brings up a picture on the screen, "Lieutenant J.G. Samuel Diaz's transport was hit by an RPG. His body was never found. He was considered K.I.A, until now. Ten days ago, Diaz's parents were contacted by a small terrorist cell claiming that their son is still alive, and demanding $5 million for his release."

"So, they had him for two years, and they're just now asking for ransom?" Riley asked her

"My superiors had the same question: why now? I think they've been moving Diaz from one spider hole to another to keep us from finding him. When the search died down, they decided they want to cash in."

"Maybe. But every agency in the Five Eyes has looked into this. Not one could find proof of life. The official position of the U.S. government is that this is a hoax. A terror cell looking to capitalize off of a dead SEAL." Matty adds

"But if they're wrong, then Diaz is still alive, and no one's coming to save him." Mac pointed out

"Nobody but us, right?" Jack asked

"When the CIA denied my official request to lead a rescue mission, I followed a few leads on my own, came up empty, and then decided to call an old friend. Even if this is a hoax, I need to see it through for Diaz's parents." Cage says

"They're so desperate for answers, they've set up an online funding page, hoping to raise the $5 million."

"...losing a child. Samuel needs our help now, all of our help, to bring him home safely." Mr. Diaz says on the video

"I want us to run the rescue mission that our government won't. Okay? But since this has already been refused through official channels.." Matty starts to say

"It's gonna have to be way off the books." Jack mentioned

"And you can't order us to help, so..." Riley adds

"So we all need to volunteer." Bozer finished

"Look, I..I know you guys just met me, and I'm aware that this is a lot to ask, but I wouldn't be here if I had anywhere else to turn." Cage tells us and I looked at the screen

"I hate asking for money but this is our son. And no matter what, I will never give up on my son." Mr. Diaz begged on the video and I see Mac stare at the video

"I'm in." He says

"Leave no man behind. Yeah, I'm down." Jack adds

"All right. I'm in." Riley agreed

"Yeah. I'm in too." Bozer says

"Let's bring this guy home." I tell her and Cage smiled at all of us

"Agent Cage, looks like you got yourself a team." Matty tells her

"Thank you. Thank you." She says to us

"Hooyah." Jack said

* * *

As me, Mac, Cage sat down on the jet I see Cage looking at Jack who was pacing back and forth looking nervous and Cage looked at Mac and I confused, "We're flying over Egypt. Jack hates Egypt. We had a thing in Cairo, and he's clearly still working on it." Mac told her

"Sounds like a story I should hear."

"No, no, sorry. No. We don't talk about Cairo. He knows that. We never talk about Cairo, especially not when we're flying directly over Cairo. Just shut up." Jack says standing next to the seat I was in

"You shut up." Mac says and I smirked at him

"I'll get it out of you eventually. People always tell me what I want to know." Cage pointed out

"Yeah, well, pack a sack lunch there, sweetheart. It's gonna take you a while. Listen. Hey, you know what, when we get back, we're gonna have to talk to Matty about designating that area a "no fly" zone." Jack tells Mac sitting down next to me

"What, the whole country?"

"Sure, why not? Tell you what, throw in the border countries, too, just to be safe." Jack said and looked out the window

"So, whose watch is that?" Cage asked Mac, "Old watch, new band, and every time you want to know the time, you're checking your phone."

"Matty's right. You're good." Mac pointed out to her

"Hey. As long as we're playing 20 questions there, missy, you sure are going through a lot of trouble to find a missing Navy SEAL. And there's not even proof he's even alive." Jack says to her

"I'm yet to hear a question buried in all that innuendo, Jack."

"Oh, I think you know what the question is." Jack says

"He's working his way up to asking if you and Diaz were together." I tell her and Jack pointed his thumb at me nodding in agreement

"So just because I want to save a man means I must have been sleeping with him. I don't fish in the company pond. I never get into relationships with men or women who I work with. Ever." She says and that shut him up

* * *

All of us lad underneath the hay in the back of a truck when suddenly it stopped and I hear rustling, just then the blade of a knife poked through luckily going in between my legs and I tried not to flinch then the truck moved again. After a short while it stopped and we all popped up out of the hay after the driver tells us something in Turkish, "This is as far as he'll take us." Cage informed us and I moved some of the hay off me and stood up seeing Mac's hand reach out to help me down which I took.

"That's fine by me this hay smells like the south end of a northbound mule. Plus, I'm getting eaten alive down here." Jack says as I did my best to get all the hay off of of me, "I forgot how much I hate the creepy-crawlies in Turkey."

"We almost got stabbed, and that's what you're worried about?" Mac asked him

"I didn't say I was worried. Dude, you're wearing a purse." Jack points out

"Guys, let's move we got to find another vehicle fast." I tell them

* * *

"Yay! More walking." Jack points out as Mac shut the hood to a car and moved on to another one, "So, uh, what's the story, Ms. Cage? If you and this Diaz kid weren't dating which you've made abundantly clear then, uh, why are you doing all this?" Jack asked her and I moved over to Mac as he looked at another car

"Diaz was part of the first SEAL team the CIA paired me with. 2013. He could tell I was new to the sandbox, and he had my back He saved my life more times than my ego would like to admit."

"Yeah. Samantha, you do realize that there's a chance that this ransom is a hoax? Two years is a very..." Mac started to tell her but she cut him off

"Yeah, it's a very long time. But either way, his parents will get the truth, and I'll get a chance to find the bastards trying to profit off his death, and break their bones."

"So, what's this look like?" Jack asked Mac indicating to the car we were at

"You know what, I think I actually can fix this."

"Yeah?" Jack asked

"Yeah."

"Looks kind of beyond repair." Cage brought up and I smiled

"Unless you got some bubble gum and a paper clip. Right, Mac?" I asked him

"Or an M-134." He says and moved over to the grass

"What?" Jack asked and Mac picked up an old machine gun that must have fallen off of a truck and took it apart then put some of the pieces into the engine of the car. He got in and tried starting it, after a couple more tries it worked.

"Yeah! Nice!" Jack says

"Where did you learn that? The Army?" Cage asked him

"A 12-year-old kid in Havana."

"Uh-oh. We got company, y'all." Jack tells us and we seeing a military truck start to drive by and i see Cage take her scarf and put it over her head

"Jack, give me your gun." She tells him

"Huh?"

"Give me your gun. Give me your gun." She says grabbing it then pointed it at us, "Get down." She tells us kicking Jack in the leg and he went down then me and Mac followed as the two men ran over to us. Cage tells them something in Turkish then they ran off, "Quick, let's go before they realize I speak in an accent." She said handing Jack back his gun

"That was one badass Jedi mind trick there, lady."

"Come on." She urged us

"Nice work." Mac says and she moved to the back of the car

"Drive!" She demanded and I got in the back seat behind Mac as Jack got in the driver's with Cage behind him.

* * *

"Hey, Matty, we got eyes on the compound that Riley tracked the terrorists to." Mac informed her over the radio

"Yeah, it's a two-story building with bars on every window, and what looks like heavy-gauge locks on every lower-level door." Jack adds

 _"All the security upgrades you'd want if you were holding a high-value American hostage."_ Matty pointed out

"So, how are we supposed to get in there?" I asked

"Yeah, and how are we getting in without them hearing? Breaching any of the windows and doors is gonna make a lot of noise." Cage mentioned

"I think I know how we're gonna do this." Mac says and I looked at him as he looked behind us, "Follow me." He said and we run over to the metal fence, "I need you three to grab the back of the pole so that you can anchor me."

"Anchor you for what?" Cage asked him

"I wouldn't ask that. Trust me. I've learned just to have blind faith. Maybe you should shut your eyes that'll help." Jack says and I rolled my eyes

"Jack.." I warned as him and Mac lifted up the metal pole of the fence and we walked back over to the building

"All right. All right, so, you guys are gonna walk the end of the pole away from the building, put as much pressure on it as you can, then run straight towards the building, pushing up." Mac informed us

"I'm gonna feel a whole lot more comfortable if I understood what we're actually doing, you know?" Cage mentioned

"Oh, uh, you guys are gonna help me overcome Earth's gravitational pull. So three forces to consider. Obviously, gravity, second one's friction..."

"Never mind. Let's just do this." Cage says then me, her and Jack bring the pole out and face one end to the building, "Here good?" She asked Mac

"Mm-hmm."

"Jack, Valarie you ready?" She asked us and I nodded my head as Mac held onto the far end of the pole, "Three, two, one." She tells us and we push the pole forward as Mac climbed up the wall and made his way onto the balcony. After a short bit Mac opened the door for us and I pulled out my gun.

"Let's clear the place." Jack says and I handed Cage my spare gun as we walked through the door, her and Jack went to a couple rooms on one end of the building while me and Mac went the other way.

"Clear." Cage says

"Yeah, we're clear down here." Jack adds and I looked into another room

"Clear here as well." I tell them then we headed up the stairs with Jack in front followed by Cage then me then Mac.

"Hands in the air!" Jack yells as we come up on a room and Cage yelled what I guessed as the same thing in Turkish at the people sitting around a table but as we got closer we noticed that the men sitting there were dead

"Well they definitely got the "don't move" part down." Mac pointed out

"And I think I know why." Jack says and pushed on of them forward with his gun, "Two shots, center mass. Each and every one. Look at that."

"They couldn't even get a shot off. Whoever did this was fast." Cage pointed out and I looked around

"Could've been three or four killers the way they got the jump on 'em. But notice what's missing?" I asked stating the obvious

"Shell casings." Cage answered

"Yeah, they picked them up. We're not dealing with rookies here, Mac. These guys are pros." I mentioned

"Yeah, but which pros? Foreign agents or a rival terrorist cell?" He asked walking over to an empty book shelf, "Hey." He whispers and we look at him, "There's a room behind here." He indicated then me, Jack and Cage make our way over raising our guns as Mac opened the door and Cage ran in first

"Diaz?" She asked but when we walked in we didn't see anyone but chains on the wall and a mattress

"Well, someone was here, but we can't be sure who." Mac pointed out

"Yeah, we can." Cage said and knelt down in front of the wall

"You sure about that?" Jack asked her

"331 was Diaz's BUD/S class. He was here."

"So now a new group of bad guys has our good guy, and we have no idea where they're taking him." I brought up

"Or what they plan on doing with him." Mac says

* * *

 _"So Diaz is alive, but the bad guys who had him are dead?"_ Riley asked over the radio

 _"Then who has him now?"_ Bozer asks as well

"Worse guys." Mac answered

"How'd they even know where Diaz was?" Jack asked

"It doesn't matter. What matters is we find him." Matty tells us

 _"Not that you guys can see, but from where I'm sitting, they left some big cyber footprints. Mac and Val's phones just did a digital handshake with a Wi-Fi router. And that same router just shook hands with four burner phones just over 23 hours ago."_ Riley informed us and Cage moved over to a computer then held up the router

"Well, can you trace those phones and find out where they are now?" Jack asked Riley

* * *

"It's a fortress. It's probably got a moat and a drawbridge. Look at that thing, man." Jack points out to Mac indicating to the building Riley traced the phone to.

"Actually, it's a hisar." Mac mentioned and we all looked at him confused, "It's one of the castles built by the sultans of the Ottoman Empire between 1299 and 1453 A.D."

"Great."

"Did you just mansplain to him?" Cage asked

"It's not mansplaining if it's man to man it's just 'splaining. And don't worry, he's gonna do the same thing to you, trust me." Jack told her

"Not if he wants to keep all his fingers."

"Well, I'm not trying to, I just know a lot of stuff." Mac says and I smirked

"Okay, so, Jack might be wrong historically, but he's right tactically. Whatever this place used to be, it's a fortress now." I point out

"Well, I think you mean a hizzar." Jack says

"Hisar." Mac corrected

"And if we had proof Diaz was alive in there, we could call for reinforcements." I finished

"So we just need eyes on the inside." Mac told us and headed towards the little village in front of us and we followed

"Look." Jack tells him and we see a few kids kicking around a makeshift ball

"Ah, no, no, stay." Mac tells us and headed towards them

"Mac, what are.." Cage began to ask but Jack stopped her

"No, no, just let him be weird. Trust me." He said and we saw Mac give the ine kid some money then he came back over with the ball

"Okay, here. Jack, I need a cell phone."

"He needs a cell phone. Let's go." Jack says to Cage who reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone

"I'm not getting this back, am I?"

"Here you go." Jack says handing Mac the phone and he took it apart adjusting the camera then cut a slit into the ball stuffing the phone inside and closed it

"Now, we just need to get it into one of those windows." Mac says

"I can do that." Jack told him and grabbed the ball moving forward and Cage followed

"Uh, guys, guys." Mac calls after them, "Guys! Guys!" He says and we follow

"I played, uh, soccer from the time I was four all the way through college." Cage pointed out to Jack

"Yeah? Yeah? And I was the kicker for my middle school football team, okay? I once had six field goals in one game. That's a division record."

"Sweet." Cage says and took the ball, "You did say middle school, though, right?"

"Hey. Lady.." Jack said and Cage stopped

"Hey, you're drawing attention." I tell them but they ignored me

"Lady"?" Cage questioned and Jack walked over

"Settle this like adults, okay?" Mac says pulling Jack to the side

"Okay, fine." Jack held up his hand in a fist to do Rock, Paper, Scissors

"Not exactly what I had in mind." Mac mentioned and looked at me but I just shrugged shaking my head then Jack beat Cage so he grabbed the ball

"Give me that thing." He put it on the ground then backed up, he took a moment then went forward kicking it but missed, Cage and I tried to hold back a smile as he muttered then someone threw the bal back to him and he set it down

"You know what, Jack?" Mac says to him

"No, no, just one more."

"This is serious." Mac tells him and Cage moved forward

"My turn, Beckham."

"Be my guest." Jack told her and she ran forward kicking it and it went through the window. After a moment we see the door open and a man wearing a turban over his face walked out and said something to the kids then headed back inside.

* * *

 _"Okay, Riley, let's see if this video is good for something aside from making me nauseous."_ Matty says over the radio

 _"Hold on. I think I got something."_ Riley told us and we looked at Mac's phone seeing a prisoner tied to a chair

"That's him. Diaz. He's alive." Cage tells us and I put my hand on her shoulder

 _"What about the people holding him Can you help us I.D. them?"_ Matty asked Riley

"Yeah, most of them are wearing keffiyeh to hide their faces.."

 _"There's one."_ Bozer said cutting her off and we looked at the one guy on the video who's face wasn't covered, _"Looks like he might be the guy in charge."_

"That's the Ten of Spades." Jack pointed out

 _"Yeah, now is not the best time for card tricks, Jack."_ Riley told him

"No, it's not a card trick, Riley, okay? When they sent us to Iraq in '04, they gave us all decks of cards so we could memorize the faces of high-value targets. Iraqi Minister of Defense was the Eight of Hearts. Saddam was the Ace of Spades, and that barrel of monkeys right there, he was the Ten."

"Tahir Ali al-Tikriti: Acid Ali. A commander in the Iraqi Republican Guard and the last uncaptured war criminal of Saddam's regime. We've got everyone else in the deck, but the Ten of Spades was never found." Cage added

"If we play our cards right, we can get him right now." Mac mentioned

"Now that we have proof of life, I can get a SEAL team here in six hours." Cage brought up

 _"I don't think we have that long."_ Riley tells us, _"I was able to stabilize a little more of the video. And I don't think our Ten of Spades is planning on demanding ransom."_

 _"Guys, we don't have time to wait for the SEALs. He'll be dead in two hours."_ Matty says

"We have to rescue Diaz now. Before they kill him with the whole world watching." I point out

* * *

"Riley, we need a map of this place." Mac told her

 _"A map you can get on Wikipedia. I'm getting full schematics of all defensive upgrades since this hisar was built."_

"How come everybody knows that but me?" Jack asked and I patted him on the back

 _"Okay, almost there."_

"Almost? Do I need to remind you of the clock we're on right now, Riley?" Jack asked her

 _"No, Jack. Do I need to remind you I'm hacking the secured network of a foreign government in a language I don't speak?"_ She asked him

"No."

 _"But also I'm in."_ She says and we looked at Mac's phone

"Okay. So we're looking at a 6,000 square foot building, with two levels, not including the basement." Mac says

 _"And 13, 14, 15 rooms, which is bad because Diaz could be in any one of them."_ Bozer added

 _"There's a room in the center of the basement, no windows, one door."_ Riley mentioned

"Perfect place for a hostage." I mentioned

"Best way breach is gonna be to parachute under the cover of night." Jack says

"Except we don't have a parachute, a plane, or, you know..." Cage started to say but he cut her off

"Don't be negative, okay? I'm just spit-ballin', okay?"

"Hey, uh, Riley. My Turkish is a little rusty. Can you translate that text?" Mack asked her

"All right, it says, 'The foundation was repaired in 1998 using the beam and base underpinning method."

"Thank you, Bob Vila. How does that help us?" Jack asked

"Well, the Ottomans did build a lot of their castles on top of even older Roman ruins." Mac brought up

"Does he always give a history lesson?" Cage asked

"Yes, but that's a good thing, - because it always leads to him saying..." I started to explain

"I have an idea."

"And there it is." I tell her with a smile

"Beam and base underpinning is a method of foundation reinforcement, used when the ground beneath the building is unable to bear the load." Mac informed us, "Riley, switch the satellite to radar imagery." He told her and the image on Mac's phone switched

"Are those?" Bozer began to ask

"Tunnels." Riley says

"Catacombs," Me and Mac said at the same time and he smiled at me then finished,"..technically. The Romans built them everywhere. So instead of going in from above at night, I'm going in from below right now."

"The closest entry is three miles away. What's your plan? To just walk in and carry him out?" Cage asked him

"Oh, no. Walking would be too slow. I'm gonna have to swim. But I'm gonna need a big distraction up top to cover what I'm doing down below."

* * *

 _"We just touched down, Bozer's en route."_ Riley informed us over the radio as me and Cage walked back into the warehouse that Mac and Jack were in

"Copy that." Cage tells her

"We were able to get enough clothes for Jack, Bozer, Valarie and I from a local farmer. How's it going here?" Cage asked them

"Yeah, good. I'm just finishing up with this thing." Mac told her and I looked at what Jack was mixing together

"What is this?" Cage asked and I glanced over at them

"It's a, uh, diver propulsion vehicle. Well, it's my quick and dirty version of one. It's how I'm gonna get through the three miles of catacombs so quickly."

"But the catacombs aren't underwater." I mentioned

"No, they're not, not yet. Jack, how's it coming over there?" Mac asked him

"Oh, well, it stinks to high heaven, but it's getting really thick. Look at that."

"Well, you're not supposed to inhale the fumes, "A", and "B," thick is good. That means it's ready." Mac told him and grabbed the stick from him

"That looks like C4." Cage said

"Uh, it's not exactly C4, but it's not too far off, either. I couldn't find what I needed laying around, so I had to make do." Mac says and pured some out onto newspaper then wadded it up putting it into a can with a fuse, "Here you go." He handed it to Jack, "And Jack.."

"Don't agitate the explosive. Yeah, I got it."

"No. It's not shock sensitive. I was just gonna say, "hurry." Mac told him

"Oh."

"As in "hurry." Go. Go." Mac said and Jack ran out of the building then Mac poured the rest into another can

* * *

 _"Where exactly do you want me to put this thing again?"_ Jack asked over the phone

"Equidistant."

"Equi what?" Jack asked and I rolled my eyes as me, Mac and Cage made our way back to a sewer in the middle of the road.

"In the middle, between the two I-beams." I told him

 _"Yeah, yeah. Okay."_

"Hey, Mac, wait." Cage says stopping him after we opened the sewer cover, "Uh Look, I-I dig your whole hero vibe. Really, I do. But you, Valarie and Jack have gone above and beyond and it really should be me going down there."

"I promised I'd get Diaz back, too. Besides, if this breaks down, I'm the only one who can fix it." Mac pointed out

"Okay. Your Campbell's Chunky Boom Boom's in place." Jack says running out of the woods towards us," What's next?"

"Uh, yeah, just help me get down here with all the stuff." Mac told him and he sits down with his feet hanging into the hole

"We've got 30 minutes till they live-stream Diaz's murder. You sure that's enough time?" Cage asked him

"It's gonna have to be. That shaped charge is gonna punch a hole in the dam and it's gonna flood the catacombs. Then after about 20 minutes, that pressure's gonna widen the hole."

"Then the whole damn dam comes down." I point out

"And if I'm not back by then, or if I'm wrong about any of this, Diaz and I both drown." He told her and I felt a sinking feeling in my gut, "See why it should be me?" He asked her then lowered himself into the catacomb, "Jack."

"Yeah, it's coming." Jack said and handed one of the items down to Mac and I dropped down the oxygen tank, "Mac? Good luck down there."

* * *

 _"All right. Front entrance has three guards, all armed. Two on the roof, two in the courtyard."_ Bozer informed us over the radio

"Copy that. Stay put and stay safe, Bozer. We don't need anybody else putting any more holes in you, man." Jack told him as we walked through the market and we come up on a guard.

"Pardon?" Cage asked but the guard yelled something at her in Turkish and she punched him as two others wnet for me and Jack. I grabbed the guards arm moving the gun away then hit him in the gut and pulled his gun out of his hands then hit him across the head with it knocking him out then gunshots went off so me and Cage ducked down returning fire.

"Well, that didn't go as planned." Jack pointed out joining up with us as we continued firing at the other guards, "But we got their attention, now let's keep it."

* * *

 _"Okay. Package is in hand."_ Mac informed us as me, Jack and Cage made our way into the building

"Yeah, copy that, Mac." Jack told him

 _"Ready for..."_ Mac started to say but we heard gunfire over the radio then heard nothing, I only hoped he was making his way back

 _"Mac has got the package, and he's heading for exfil."_ Riley informed us

"Hey, we're about to bail on this party, Cage. You ready?" I asked her

"Oh, yeah. Cover me." She said and we ran out across the hall shooting at the guards, Jack killed one and I went to return fire on the other one but he shot his gun and the bullet hit me in the shoulder.

"AHH!" I yelled falling down but then Cage and Jack quickly picked me up while Jack shot back killing him and Cage helped me to the room next to us while Jack went into a different room.

* * *

"Guys, let's go. We got to hurry." Jack told Mac and Diaz lowering his arms into the hole with Bozer and Cage holding his feet while I stood guard holding a rag to my shoulder. Just then Jack lifted Diaz out of the hole.

"Any chance you got a rope up there?" I hear Mac asked and Jack lowered himself in again

"Next best thing, bud. Meet me halfway. Come on!" Jack told him and after a moment Jack gets pulled back with Mac holding onto his arms and I sighed in relief

"You ok?" I asked him as we began to run but he stopped

"I'm fine but what happened to you?" He asked indicating to my shoulder.

"Target practice gone wrong." I joked and he looked at me, "I'm fine, it doesn't hurt that bad." I lied and he shook his head, "We gotta go though come on." I tell him and we ran to the others.

* * *

"Lieutenant Diaz is home with his family right now, and as far as I'm concerned, the four of you are heroes." Matty informed Jack, Cage, Mac and I as we stood in the briefing room, "But not everybody agrees with me. And those who don't feel that you four broke the rules and you need to be punished. Oversight has informed me that I need to officially warn you three about your role in this mission." She tells me, Mac and Jack

"An official warning? That's it? It's just an official warning?" Mac asked looking at me and Jack

"Dude, I got so many warnings on my record, I've lost count." Jack pointed out

"It'll go in your permanent file." Matty told him

"So what?"

"Not sure why you'd wear this as a badge of honor, Jack. But, yeah, you're right. It's a slap on the wrist for you three." Matty says

"Well, yeah. What about Cage?" I asked her

"Unfortunately, the penalty for Cage is more severe. The CIA is officially discharging you, effective immediately. You may be brought up on charges. Could mean jail time."

"Well, I knew that was a likely outcome." Cage mentioned

"But you went anyway." Mac pointed out to her

"Yeah. And I'd do it again."

"So now that you're unemployed, would you like a job?" Matty asked her

"What?" Jack asked in shock, "Hey, whoa. Now wait a second. That is a group decision. Okay, we're a team, need a big group dinner, maybe get around - a big table, with some..." He started to say but Mac hit him on the chest

"I like it. What do you say?" Mac asked her

"Well, a job wouldn't mean much if I'm in jail."

"Don't worry about that. I have a plan." Matty told her

"When do I start?"

"Right now." Matty says and I smiled at Cage

"That really hurt, though." Jack says to Mac as we walked out of the room

"Relax." Mac says and Jack walked away then Mac stopped me, "You sure you're okay?" He asked me indicating to my arm that was in a sling

"I'm fine," I tell him with a chuckle, "Why are you so worried?" I asked him with a smile and he shifted

"I just...don't like seeing you get hurt...or...well anyone really." He says and I smiled shaking my head

"I'm okay, trust me." I tell him and he nodded his head.

* * *

I get back to my apartment and shut the door then locked it, after I put my bag down I walked over to my fridge to grab a water but stopped when I saw a piece of paper sitting on my counter with my name on it. I looked around then walked over to it picking it up and my blood went cold.

 _You can run, but you can't hide._

I read then crumpled it up throwing it away then checked all my windows making sure they were locked then chained my door. I leaned against it panting as my heart raced with fear. It was happening again.


	2. Chapter 2

**You can run but you can't hide**

"Any time you want to close that door, Riley, would be great!" Jack tells her as me, him and Mac fought the bad guys on the transport aircraft as we tried to get an EMP back from them

"Yeah, I'm trying, Jack! This is an $800 million military aircraft designed to be unhackable! It's not exactly user-friendly!"

 _"Yeah? Well, neither am I. Status update, now."_ Matty demanded over the radio

"We are still..." Mac says and threw the guy had a hold of me against the crate and I punched the other one that was coming near us in the gut, "...mid-acquisition!"

"Don't worry, boss. We'll get that digital doohickey before takeoff, just like - you requested!" Jack told her and I kicked my foot up trying to kick the one guy in the face but he caught it and threw me into the wall

 _"Jack, I'm tracking your airspeed and altitude. Need I remind you what would happen if these people escape with a handheld EMP?"_ Matty asked him

"It's kind of hard to remember stuff with five guys trying to kill you." I point out getting up and jumped onto the guys back hitting him in the shoulder, as he went down I hit head with my elbow as Mac ran back over to the crate grabbing out something

"Hey, Mac, a little more punching and less of whatever that is you're doing! What are you doing?!" Jack asked him

"Oh, you're gonna like this, I promise." He said hooking the last guy up and pulled me over to Jack then pulled a switch causing the crate to eject its parachute pulling the men with them, I laughed watching them go out but one guy cut the rope then grabbed the EMP

"Riley!" Jack yelled to her and she picked up the gun that was by her and aimed it at the guy

"Drop it! Now!"

"Riley! Take the shot!" Jack tell her but I see her hesitate and the guy puts his hand on the button

"You don't want to press that button!" Mac warned him

 _"Uh, this dude's not crazy enough to trigger an EMP on a plane while he's still on the plane, is he? That will shut down the engines."_ Bozer pointed out over the radio but then suddenly the guy activated the EMP and the plane titled loosing power and I fell into Mac. We see the guy quickly put on a parachute and I made my way over to Riley who was sitting in the ground leaning against the wall

"Did he just take the last parachute?!" Jack asked

"Yeah! And I just sent out a cargo crate with all the stuff I need to make more!" Mac says and I looked at Riley who was staring out of the plane.

* * *

"Hey Val.." I hear Mac call after me catching up to me in the hall of Phoenix, "How's it going?"

"Good, you?"

"Oh I'm good." He says and we continued walking

"Really? Even after the whole crash landing a plane thing?" I asked him with a smirk and he smiled

"Not my first near death experience, doubt it will be the last."

"Very true." I point out

"Are you doing ok though?" He asked me

"What do you mean?"

"You just seem more off then usual." He says and I stopped walking

"I thought Cage was the only one who was able to read people." I mention and he grinned at me, I hate how his smile always made me melt a little, why do I feel this way?, "I'm ok, just haven't been sleeping much lately is all." I tell him and he looked at me concerned, "Nothing to worry about, I just get distracted on my phone at night when I should be sleeping." I tell him and he chuckled then our phones chimed, "Matty needs us." I said and we headed to the briefing room.

* * *

"Riley, have you ever heard of a hacker group called Bedlam74?" Matty asked her as her and Jack walked into the room

"No. Why?"

"Because they've heard of you. Phoenix intercepted several messages from them from the deep Web. They're looking for Artemis37." Matty tells her

"Your old hacker handle. What do they want?" Mac asked Matty

"They'd like to hire her for a job, and they're willing to pay big coin."

"Hackers are paranoid, tight-knit groups that only work with people they trust. Why do they want new blood?" Riley asked

"Well, their best coder disappeared about a month ago."

"Disappeared, like won the lottery?" Bozer asked

"I think she means more the murdery kind, Boze." I told him

"What's the job that they want Riley for then?" Mac asked

"Doesn't matter. She's not in the black hat business anymore, am I right?" Jack asked Riley and she looked at him

"Well, I think she may need to come out of retirement, just for this one. We've discovered that Bedlam74 has been gearing up for a major cyber attack. And if they're willing to spend a small fortune to hire a legend like you, whatever this attack is..."

"Could be catastrophic." Riley pointed out finishing for Matty

"Exactly. These guys want a face-to-face. And I'm thinking that this is our best shot to ID them, get a sense of exactly what it is they're planning." Matty added

"So you want Riley to go undercover as Riley?" Bozer asked

"If Riley goes under as herself, who do Mac, Val and I go as? Each other?" Jack asked as well

"You're not going. Nobody would believe that you even know how to turn on a computer, Jack." Matty tells him and I bit back a smile

"Okay."

"Besides, they only want to meet with Riley." Matty says

"If she goes with anyone else, it'll blow the whole operation." Mac added

"Mac, Valarie, and Jack, you'll provide backup from a follow vehicle." Matty tells us and I see Jack shake his head in protest

"Mm-mm."

"Riley, you're gonna go in alone." Matty adds

"The hell she is." Jack defended, "Look, this is crazy."

"This could be the only way to stop a deadly attack." Riley tells him

"It's not the only way."

"I can handle it." Riley said and stormed out then Bozer followed her

"She is not ready for a solo mission." Jack says to Matty

"I thought you said what happened on the plane is your fault, Jack."

"What? Oh, yeah. What I said about the plane. Yeah, it was totally my fault. There. Mm." Jack tells her

"And mine. I helped." Mac adds

"I helped too." I said as well

"Well I u-unhelped actually." Mac mentioned

"You know I dock your pay every time you lie to me, right?" Matty asks us

"When did we start doing that?" Jack asked

"I know what happened on the plane, guys."

"Okay. Then you know she's not ready." Jack told her

"I know this mission needs her."

"So what? Look, it's not it's not just about what happened on the plane, okay? Riley still hasn't dealt with, you know, offing somebody." Jack pointed out

"I know. Taking a life is the hardest part of this job. Look, I've seen operatives way more seasoned than Riley fall apart. But pulling them from the field? No. That shatters their confidence."

"She's got a point." I tell Jack

"Are you serious?" Jack asked

"Riley can do this, but not if you don't give her a chance." Mac defended

"Chance to get herself killed."

"Give up on her now, and she may never get over it." I tell him

"Hey, a mission like this can go south six ways to Sunday in a hurry, and you know it! And you you want to send her out there by herself? Are you out of your mind?! I'm telling you, Matty, it's a mistake. She is not ready for this!"

"Maybe not, Jack, but if she can't get through this mission, then she just doesn't belong in the field! She either gets back on the horse now or not at all." Matty tells him

* * *

"Jack, unless Matty changed my orders, I really don't need another lecture." Riley tells him as we walked into Bozer's lab

"Hey, relax. I can't talk you out of anything. I know that. I've know that since you were a little kid."

"Must have learned that stubbornness from you." She says to him

"Okay, well, good. Maybe I can teach you something else. Follow your gut on this thing, okay? If something doesn't feel right, it's probably not right. You know what I mean?"

"And pretty much the only thing you can count on is that things will not go according to plan. But remember, when things do go wrong, you can always..." Mac started to say but she cut him off

"Improvise."

"Right." He says

"Matty and I will be your eyes and ears back here at headquarters." Bozer told her handing her a small mic

"They'll check me for bugs as soon as I get there. If I don't go in dark, I might not come back."

"Whoa, watching from a stakeout-mobile is bad enough. How are we supposed to watch your back if we can't even hear you talk?" Jack asked and I saw Mac's wheels turn

"Uh, Riley, can I borrow your necklace?" He asked her and she took it off handing it to him after he grabbed a few things off the table

"Are those my headphones?" Bozer asked him

"Uh, I think they were your headphones." I pointed out then we watched Mac work

"During the Cold War, the Soviets invented a passive listening device, and they hid it inside of a U.S. ambassador's office. And they called it 'The Thing.'" He says and held up her necklace with a makeshift charm on it

"They had the whole KGB, and that was the best name they could come up with?" Bozer asked

"Sounds better in Russian. The Americans were very careful about scanning for bugs." He says and moved over to a speaker, "But The Thing would only transmit if there was a microwave beam pointed directly at it."

"So, no beam, no transmission, no Bedlam finding the bug?" Jack asked and Bozer pointed the controller at the necklace

"Now you hear me." Mac says and it amplifies then Bozer turned it off, "Now you don't."

"Okay, so we'll be able to hear her. How will she be able to hear us?" I asked him

"She won't. It's a one-way only."

"So I get to do this whole op without Jack's voice in my ear?" Riley asked and I chuckled, "Best mission ever."

"If anything goes wrong, we'll hear it, and we'll be there right away." Mac told her

"Got to come up with a code word or something if she needs some help. If thing's go pear-shaped, just say albatross." Jack told her

"I'm not gonna say albatross."

"Gesundheit. I don't care, man. Make it up. You got to say something." He says

"Help? How's "help" for a code work, Jack?" She asked him

"I mean, it's not that good honestly."

"Hey, potato, potahtoe." Bozer told him and Riley's phone vibrated

"Tomato, tomahtoe."

"Bedlam just sent the location for the meet." She tells us

"Well, are you ready?" Mac asked her

* * *

"I don't like this, you two. I don't like it." Jack says to me and Mac as we sit in the car watching the building that Riley walked up to.

"We know. I could tell because you said, "I don't like this" over and over and over until we got here. Just have a little faith. Riley knows what she's doing." Mac told him and we see a big guy walk out of the door and grab her bag searching through it then held up a scanner.

"That's my cue." Mac says and grabbed the remote to hide her signal

"Jabba the Hacker's getting awfully handsy up there." Jack said and I felt the anger in his voice

"Easy, Jack. She's got this." I tell him and the guy handed back her bag then she heads inside

"She's in. Patching audio to Phoenix." Mac said and put the remote back up

"I don't like this." Jack repeats and I rolled my eyes

"Riley has hacked the NSA twice. And how many international disasters has she helped us avert? She can handle a few hackers." Mac tells him

"Yeah. I don't need you to remind me how tough she is, okay? I'm still gonna worry about her. Did you see the size of that guy? He's a big dude."

* * *

 _"You are a hard person to track down, Artemis."_ We hear a guy tell her over her hidden mic

 _"Well, that's 'cause I'm not looking to be found. I don't even get out of bed if I don't like the offer."_

 _"Well, clearly, you like our offer."_ He pointed out

 _"It was enough to get me here. But since I don't know anything about this job, and I certainly don't know who you are, you better start sharing, or I walk."_

 _"Oh. Wow. Um, I'm Cyclone. That's Akira, that's D-Rez, and that small mountain of a man behind you That's Goliath."_ He introduced

 _"Cyclone? Goliath? You guys hackers or theme park rides? I've never heard of any of you before."_

 _"Oh, you've heard of us. You remember the worm that hit the stock exchange last year?"_ Cyclone asked her

 _"Yeah, someone made off with more than five mil, right?"_

 _"$5,285,000."_ He corrected, _"And we're still blackmailing the owner of a biotech company for insider trading. Did you want to see his e-mails?"_

 _"I'll wait till you post about it online. Well, now that we're all besties, how about you tell me about this job?"_

 _"Well, let's just put it like this. If you gave yourself root kernel access to the NSA network, this really shouldn't be a problem, given that you are Artemis. And I heard that she was dormant for a couple years, so how do I even know that you're her?"_ He asked

 _"I don't see anyone else here who swiped right."_

 _"Yeah, that's not gonna cut it. Before we talk business, I need to see your skills. I want you to hack in to the city's electrical grid, shut it down. You got five minutes."_ He told her

 _"You came to me, remember? That means you need me. I can walk any time I want."_

 _"Well actually.."_ He says and we hear a click noise

"Turn up your little microwaves. That sounded like a gun." Jack says to Mac

"Yeah, the volume's up as loud as it'll go."

"All right. You know, we're done here." Jack says and started to open his car door

"Hey, hey, stop. Give her a chance." Mac says stopping him

 _"He's right, Jack. If I called in the cavalry every time the two of you had guns pointed at you, you'd never get anything done. Let this play out."_ Matty tells us raising a good point

 _"You gonna work, or you gonna bleed?"_ Cyclone asked her

 _"Five minutes. Start the clock."_

"You know, based on your reputation, you're - you're not exactly what I expected." Cyclone says

 _"Yeah? I didn't really have any expectations about you, since I never heard of you before today, so..."_

 _"Enough chitchat. Clock's ticking."_ He told her and we hear the gun cock

"Okay, that was definitely a gun." Jack said and got out

"Yeah, but...Jack" Mac started to say but got out and followed him with me behind him

"Jack, get back in the car." I told him

"No."

"Jack, she didn't say albatross." Mac says as we catch up to him

"So what?!"

 _"Stand down, Jack. This is the only lead we have."_ Matty ordered

"Yeah? That's the only Riley we have, too."

 _"And if you go in there now, you'll blow Riley's cover and put her life in danger."_ Matty tells him

"I'm not the one who put her life in danger, okay? You're the one that did that. You should have never sent her in there in the first place. I'm putting a stop to this right now. Right now!" Jack said and rushed forward as me and Mac followed him

"What are you doing?" I asked him as we rounded the building and he cocked his gun

"You know what I'm about to do. Val get your gun ready."

"I'm not gonna do that Jack." I tell him and Mac stepped in front of him

"No, you're not."

"I wouldn't advise getting in my way right now." Jack warned him

"You want to get to her, you're gonna have to go through us." Mac says and I stood off to the side

"Boy, get out of my face." Jack told him and went to move past but Mac stopped him forcing Jack back

"Stop! Stop! You're not the only one who cares about her. I do, too. But she can handle herself. The only one who can't see that is you. And if you don't learn to see it right now, you might just get her killed." Mac tells him and he looked between the two of us

"Don't make me hurt you, man." Jack said and pushed past Mac who looked at me then went to stop Jack again

"Hey, stop! She's fine!" Mac told him

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'm listening, Jack." He says and held up the device

 _"Fine. You've convinced me. Now turn our rigs back on."_ Cyclone says

 _"Why don't we stop playing games and you tell me about this job?"_

* * *

"Riley did it. She's in." Mac informed Matty

 _"Good. Because Jack's out."_

"Matty..." Jack began to say

 _"You nearly blew the entire op. You're emotionally compromised, Jack, and you're coming home. That's an order."_

* * *

Mac pulled up on the corner street where we followed the hackers and Riley to then the back door opened and Cage got in, "Do you realize I was this close to accessing the Chinese ambassador's offshore accounts when Matty pulled me out?" She asked us and I gave a small nod while watching the building

"You think you're not happy about it, you should see Jack." I tell her

"Mac, do you mind?" She asked and I saw her turned around in the back seat indicating to the zipper on her dress

"Oh, yeah." He says after glancing back then looked forward and unzipped it

"What's their play?" Cage asked

"Not sure." I said, "Since when do hackers rob banks in person?" I asked and Mac's phone went off, "It's your girlfriend." I tell him and he gave a light chuckle

"Jack. Fifth text in the last two hours. Lots of emojis."

"I figured out Jack met Riley when Riley was about ten or 11, that her real dad was abusive, so Jack stepped in to fill that role, and that Riley's the closest thing Jack has to a family* of his own." Cage pointed out after she got dressed and we looked back at her, "You guys, trained interrogator. I notice stuff. What I can't figure out is why Jack's being so overprotective of a woman who can clearly fend for herself."

"Well, she did freeze up on our last mission, so..." Mac tells her

"Yeah, but you're not treating her like a helpless little girl. He is. Why?"

"When abusive dad got abusive, Jack kind of kicked his ass, so he thought Riley would never forgive him, and he just left." Mac explained

"So he feels guilty because he abandoned her then, and he doesn't want to make the same mistake now." Cage concluded

"Yeah." Mac says and his phone vibrates, "Hey, Matty, we rendezvoused with Cage, and it looks like they're just planning to rob the bank." He mentioned

 _"No, they're planning to assassinate the secretary of defense. The files that Riley slipped us contained details of their plans. Bedlam's getting paid $20 million to kill Secretary Vasquez."_

 _"Well, unless the SecDef is still in the bank right now, I think it's safe to pull Riley out of there. I mean, we know what they're planning on doing. Right? Mission accomplished."_ Jack told her

 _"Famous last words, Jack. We only know the who. We don't know the where, when, or how they plan to carry out this cyber assassination."_

 _"Cyber assassination, my ass. I can't believe we're risking Riley's neck for something as crazy as killing somebody with a computer. What are they gonna do beat him to death with their laptops?"_ Jack asked

 _"It's not that crazy, Jack, all right? Everything is online these days, so everyone is vulnerable."_ Bozer told him

 _"Any number of devices could be turned against us at any time: traffic lights, medical implants, - planes, cars..."_ Another voice said

 _"All right, all right, thanks, I get it. Who is she again?"_ Jack asked them

 _"They're right, Jack. You know, with just a few keystrokes, these hackers can kill you from halfway around the world. Which is why we need to leave Riley in."_ Matty tells him

"So where's the SecDef now?" I asked Matty

 _"He's here, in L.A. at a restaurant just a few blocks away."_

"Well, that's too close to be a coincidence." Mac pointed out

 _"So why can't we just call the guy and tell him not to go anywhere near a computer?"_ Jack asked

"Jack, because his phone is a computer. It's probably got spyware all over it, so any attempt to warn him could tip Bedlam off." Cage pointed out

 _"Yeah, but we can't wait around to figure out how breaking into a bank leads to a murder. Mac, Val and Cage, I need you to go warn the SecDef in person."_ Matty told us

 _"Oh, hell no. It's bad enough you're pulling me off the case, but now you're just gonna leave Riley hanging out in the breeze with nobody watching her six?"_ Jack asked her and I felt the anger from here

 _"The mission is to save the secretary of defense."_

"Hey, if Mac can't watch her back, then I'm going to. You understand me?" He says and there was a pause, _"I'm a little sick of people standing in my way today, Bozer, so with all due respect..."_

 _"All due respect, Jack, Riley's got all of Phoenix watching her back."_ Bozer told him

 _"How do you know that?"_

 _"Cyclone switched off the security cams, but Jill turned them back on."_ Bozer mentioned

 _"Who is this Jill person?"_

 _"Her."_ Bozer told him

 _"Riley's been teaching me some tricks."_

 _"Jack, Phoenix is going to keep an eye on Riley. Okay? While we figure out what these hackers are doing at the bank. Mac, Val and Cage, go warn the SecDef."_ Matty ordered then Mac started the car and we drove off.

* * *

"Do you kids have any idea how many death threats I get a day?" The SecDef asked us as we stood in front of him at the restaurant, "I appreciate the warning. And I'll I'll definitely have my phone and laptop checked for malware."

"You have to trust us." I tell him

"But unless Phoenix has harder intel than "somebody plans to kill you with technology" I have a plane to catch." He says and stands up

"A plane is, actually, one of the main things that they could told him moving forward but the body gaurd stopped him.

* * *

 _"Mac, Val and Cage, do you have eyes on the SecDef?"_ Matty asked us as we headed towards the door of the restuarant seeing the an SUV drive away, _"This assassination is going down right now."_

"He's leaving in a black SUV." Cage says

"A late-model, super-hackable SUV." Mac told her

 _"Well, then, catch up to it, fast."_ Matty ordered

* * *

Mac, Cage and I stood by a car as Mac broke the window with his elbow then unlocked the door, Cage went in first getting in the back then I got in, "This thing is beautiful, but what's wrong with our car?" Cage asked

"Anything built after '97 is basically a rolling computer. This, on the other hand, is four wheels, a chassis, and a whole lot of horses." I tell her then Mac started it and drove off

"Okay, SecDef's car is six blocks ahead, but we still have no idea how Bedlam plans to kill him." I said to him after he turned a corner

"Right now I'd just settle for catching up."

"You got a plan for when we do? Because he's got three armed guards, and he's already blown us off once. It's not like he's just gonna pull over." Cage pointed out

"All right, tell me where he's going. I'm gonna get ahead of him." Mac said and sped up

* * *

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Cage asked Mac as we stood by the car watching the SecDef's SUV get closer to us

"I'm never that sure." He says and the SUV moved around us then hit the tire iron that Mac stuck in a man hole cover causing them to stop. We ran over to it fighting off the bodyguards then Cage opened the back door knocking the SecDef out and we put him in the back of the car and Cage got in neck to him then I got in front and we drove off.

* * *

"This is kidnapping. And treason!" The SecDef tells us as Mac drives

"Actually, treason requires intent to aid the enemy, so..."

"Mac, you're not helping." I tell him

"We will let you go as soon as we know that you're safe, sir." Cage informed him and Mac's phone rang

 _"Mac, I think we may know how Bedlam plans to kill the SecDef."_ Matty says and I look back at the SecDef

"Well, we've already got him away from any cars, or plane, or laptop that they could use to hack into the.."

"Mac." Cage said cutting him off and I saw the SecDef's face twist in pain

 _"The company that Bedlam hacked makes medical devices. Now, there's nothing in his file, but if the SecDef has an insulin pump or any kind of..."_

"He has a pacemaker." Cage pointed out opening the Sec's shirt

"Bedlam hacked his heart. They're sending him into cardiac arrest." Mac mentioned

* * *

"How did we not know this guy had a pacemaker? Matty read his entire file." Mac asked after we parked into an old warehouse and laid the Sec on the ground as Cage began chest compression's

"Vasquez was eying a run for the presidency, so it's no surprise he tried to hide it." I mentioned

"This isn't working. I can't get a pulse." Cage tells us and Mac checked for a pulse

"He's in a-fib. They didn't just shut down his pacemaker, they reprogrammed it to deliver continuous shocks." Mac informed us

"Well, unless you've got a plan to fix it, we're about to watch the secretary of defense die." Cage says and Mac pulled out his phone

"Jack, is Riley okay?"

 _"Uh, I-I think so. How's the secretary of defense?"_ Jack asked

"Not good. Riley, can you hack his pacemaker remotely and remove the malware?" Mac asked her

"Not fast enough to save him. From what I saw, their code is riddled with logic bombs. Best I can do is to shut it off completely."

"Yeah, I can work with that. Do that." Mac says

 _"No, no, wait a minute, now. I stone cold flunked out of med school, but if you turn off his pacemaker, ain't he gonna die?"_ Jack asked

"Yes, technically, but I think I can fix that."

 _"Well, brother, if you can fix death, we're in the wrong business."_ Jack says and I smirked

 _"You went to med school?"_ Riley asked him

"No, he's lying." Cage pointed out

"I seriously thought about it." Jack said

"I'm gonna borrow your phone." Mac tells me grabbing it out of my pocket, "You'll get it back, I think." He tells me and I just shake my head as I take over chest compression's for Cage then he came back over, "Here, one second." He told me and I moved out of the way as he attached something to the SecDef then i started compression's again

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" I asked him

"Still no, but it's our best shot. Riley how's it going?"

"Okay, I'm shutting off his pacemaker now!"

"Okay, stop compression's." Mac told me moving me back and I hear a low rhythmic thumping noise come from my phone and I looked at the screen, "1.17 hertz audio. It's the same frequency as a human heartbeat. The same pulse that's coming out of those speakers is going through these wires." He explain then after a moment the SecDef moved and Mac put his fingers to his neck, "We have a pulse. I-It's weak, but it's there." He said and I sighed in relief

"You just made an external pacemaker out of paper clips." Cage pointed out

"Yeah, and a 1967 Mustang fastback. If you're gonna do it, do it in style, right?" He says and I laughed

"What the hell just happened?" The SecDef asked and went to touch the wires Mac had attached to him

"Yeah, I wouldn't I wouldn't touch those, sir." I tell him

"You, uh, you kind of need them to live." Mac says and I smiled at him

* * *

"Yes! Haha" I laughed raising my hands in the air after I beat Mac the basketball shooting game in the arcade and he smiled

"How are you so good at this?"

"Well a few kids around my neighborhood used to get together and play after school so I joined them. Kicked their butts too." I smirked and he just shook his head

"Alright then," He said and I grabbed my tickets then handed them to another kid in line, "Wha..." He started to ask confused.

"Eh don't really need them, they deserve them." I tell him and he smiled

"Oh um here," He handed me a phone and I looked at him, "I didn't get your other one back so I got you a replacement." He said and I turned it on and laughed at the background, it was all of us smushed together making weird faces at the camera.

"Thanks Mac." I said and we sat down at a table then shortly after Riley and Jack joined us along with Bozer and Matty.

"Well, that is good news." Matty says and hung up her phone and I see a person in a cat suit walk over to us, "So, the SecDef..." She started to say but the cat guy started to dance

"Oh, I love this guy." Jack says

"Back off, furball, or I'll pluck those whiskers. All of them." She tell the person and he slowly backed away, "Get back to your litter box. As I was saying, the SecDef is not pressing charges. You're welcome. And now the Phoenix has a very powerful ally at the Department of Defense."

"And all we had to do was kidnap the guy and nearly kill him." I said and Mac smiled then I see Bozer hug Riley

"What is this for?" She asked him

"First solo mission. I knew you'd crush it."

"It almost crushed me." She tells him

"Nah. I never doubted you. But you," Bozer says and looked at Jack, "..on the other hand All the places you've been to in the world New York, Italy, even Chicago, and you like the pizza here?" He asked him

"Easy-peasy, always greasy, bro. And, Mac, about what happened outside of the warehouse..."

"Forget it, Jack. Riley's just lucky to have someone as dedicated as you watch her back. And you should thank Cage, too. She stepped it up big time." Mac told him

"Well, I already did. Who do you think invited her to the party?" Jack asked and I saw Cage walk over and pull a chair up next to me

"Is this seat taken?" She asked

"No, not at all." I tell her and she sat down

"All right, who's ready for some Skee-Ball?" Jack asked and I rolled my eyes then smiled at Mac. I had finally figured out what it was about him that made my heart raced, I liked him, a lot more then a friend, but it didn't matter because he would never like me that way, especially after he finds out who I am.


	3. Chapter 3

**You can run, but you can't hide**

 **A/N: Shout out to Court who was my first review on this story: Thank you for your kind words I'm glad I wrote this story as well it just popped into my head and was bugging me so I do hope you continue to enjoy :)**

"Oh, my eyes." Bozer says as we walked into the exam room that Mac and Jack were in after getting back from the Artic and I looked away after seeing it and moved away, Why didn't anyone tell me that Jack's ass is on the playlist?"

"Oh, no. Come on, this is the infirmary, people, okay? Not a clown car. Can't a man with frost butt get a little privacy, please?" Jack asks us

"Calm down, Dalton, we're all one big happy family here." Matty tells him

"If we're a happy family, what does that make Jack?" Cage asked

"Crazy uncle." All of us but him answered

"Every family has one." Bozer pointed out

"Okay, you know, I don't have to take this off y'all, I'm out of here. Enjoy the view on the way out." Jack says as he started to get up but Matty slapped his butt and he yelped while we all laughed and I looked at Mac

"Slow down, cowboy. This ain't a social call. We've got work." Matty says

"Oh, so this is a briefing. Huh? Right here, right now? Can we move this shindig to the war room?" Jack asked her

"Yeah, well, of course we could. But where's the fun in that? Besides, it's not like I haven't seen it before." She says and I looked at Mac confused

"I'd appreciate it if we didn't go there, yeah?" Jack says and laid back down

"All right. Thanks to Cage and her interrogation of the Ten of Spades, we have tapped into a treasure trove or new intel, including a lead on the illusive terrorist group, the Red Fist." Matty informed us as we all gathered by the TV except for Jack

"The Red what?" Jack asked

"Jack..."

"Well, I can't hear that good with my tochis on full display like this." He says

"She said Red F.." Mac started to say from behind me, "Oh, can you stand up and put that all away?" He asked Jack, "Red Fist, they're a Eastern European group of radicals responsible for over 30 deadly attacks in the last decade."

"I thought you said these guys were terrorists. They're stealing diamonds." I pointed out looking at the footage

"Well, in the last six weeks, it appears as though they've shifted gears, pulling off a dozen diamond heists all across Europe, hauling in an estimated $75 million." Matty tells us

"And I'm guessing they're not just gonna put this money away so they could retire someplace sunny, huh?" Bozer asked

"Sadly, no. The Ten of Spades says they want to use the stolen diamonds to finance a major attack." Cage informed him

"Every relevant detail of this forthcoming major attack remains a mystery. However, what we do know is where the diamonds themselves are being held: in a vault at the Karabakh Hotel and Casino in Azerbaijan." Matty added

"So, if we cut off the funding, then we stop the attack?" Mac asked her and she nodded her head

"So you want us to break into the casino vault and steal the diamonds before Red Fist can use them?" I asked her as well and she again nodded her head

"Okay, this assignment keeps getting better and better." Bozer says

"Look, anything warmer than Siberia I consider a vacation. Now all I need to do is just come up with a cool cover name." Jack mentioned

"Actually, your cover IDs have already been taken care of." Matty tells us, "Mac, you will be going in as Luke Arrington, an arms dealer with money to burn. Riley, you will be Emma Castillo, a notorious drug lord's girlfriend who's notorious in her own right for traveling with half her wardrobe. Should make it easy to sneak in all the gear you'll need to hack their system. Bozer, you will be Chet Walker, a money-laundering bad boy looking to spend some ill-gotten gains. Cage, you will be Francesca Moretti, heir apparent to a Sicilian crime family who may or may not be here to make someone disappear. Val, you are Natasha Beuchamp, daughter of the well known and very wealthy mob boss Marcus Beuchamp, who is there to make an under the table deal with Luke Arrington." She tells us and I smirked at Mac who smiled back, "And, Jack, you will be Ernie Bung, a disgraced accountant known for questionable bookkeeping." She tells him and I snorted

"Ernie Bung? Why can't I be Chet Walker? And a disgraced accountant? That's just shameful, that cover name sucks."

"It was either that or a rogue chef who sells illegal bush meat. Backstopped cover identities don't grow on trees, Dalton." She said to him

"I didn't know bush meat was illegal."

"Once you're in the casino, all Riley will need to do is clip into the network to hack their system, a program called SteelViper, which will allow her to tap into security cameras and learn some guard rotations." Matty informed us

"Well, if Riley has that kind of access, it should be just a matter of distracting the security long enough to break into the vault, scoop the diamonds, then split." Mac pointed out

"Said that way, sounds super easy. But I'm still hazy on step one. How do we clip Riley into the network? Got to assume they're keeping this network behind some big, intimidating door guarded by big, intimidating men." Bozer mentioned

"Of course. But I do think I have an idea."

* * *

I stood in the hotel room wrapped in my robe when there was a knock on the door, "Ready?" I asked Mac who was handcuffed to the bed

"As I'll ever be." He said and I walked out of the room trying to shake that image out of my head as I opened the door.

"This is so embarrassing." I tell the lock smith who was standing at the door, "My boyfriend and I had a little miscommunication. We both thought the other one brought the, um.." I said and clicked my tongue, "I don't know why...you know what, just come in, come look." I tell him and pulled him inside and we headed to the room

"H-Hey. Any chance you know how to pick a lock?" Mac asked him and the guy set the bag on the bed and as he leaned forward I snatched his key card then headed into the bathroom where Bozer was and handed it to him and he began to work

"Oh, wow, you are good at that. Honey, you should see how fast he is." Mac says from the bedroom and not gonna lie my heart jumped a little at the nickname even though it was fake.

"Uh, that-that's great, babe, I'll be out as soon as I can, okay?" I said and watched Bozer work

"Ooh! Oh! Hol-Hold on!" I hear Mac groan

"Are you okay?" The lock smith asked him

"Leg cramp." Mac groaned, "Leg cramp. Hold on, hold on, hold on." He says and Bozer finished then I walked out of the bathroom back over to them, "There it goes." Mac told him and I snuck the card back on the guys tool belt then he gets the handcuffs off of Mac

"Wow, you are fast." I tell him and pulled some money out of the robe handing it to him, "Here you go. Thank you."

"Thanks again." Mac said and the door shut, "Okay, Boze, you're up." Mac told him and got out of the bed grabbing his shirt and I walked out of the room to change as well. _Get it out of your head Val we're on a mission._ I thought to myself still trying to get the image of Mac being shirtless out of my head.

* * *

 _"Guys, are you seeing what I'm seeing? Hang on, Boze, we got a new player to the game. Anybody know who the hottie is with the security detail standing in front of the door we need to get into?"_ Jack asked over the radio as me and Riley sat in our set up room

"No idea. Jack, can you get a photo?" Riley asked him

 _"Yeah, yeah. I can do that."_

 _"Can I help you, sir?"_ We hear a guard ask him

 _"No, I don't think so. Can I help you?"_

"Uh, Mac? Jack could use some help." I tell him

"Boy, you better get out of my face, that's what you should do." Jack says to the guard and I roll my eyes

"What are you gonna do with that stun gun, Mac?" I asked him

"Make someone rich."

* * *

"We're in." Riley informed us as the others joined us in the room, "Nice work, Boze. Their SteelViper system is about to be our SteelViper system."

"Yeah, as a wise man once said, "All right, all right, all right"" Jack quoted holding a champagne bottle

"That was a movie." I tell him and he popped the cork and it bounced around

"Doesn't mean it wasn't wise, Boze. Now, relax. All we got to do now is sit back, have a few dranks, let CSI do her thing. Do your thing, girl." Jack said to Riley sitting down on the couch

"Yeah. I think you're forgetting about the part where we still have to sneak past security and crack into a state-of-the-art vault." Mac pointed out

"Yeah, I kind of feel like you're about to jinx this whole thing." Cage mentioned

"Guys, we got a problem." Riley says and I looked at her laptop I don't know what security system this is, but it's not SteelViper. Everything's been upgraded. Thermal imaging, biometric scanners, and worst of all, the vault's been upgraded, too. Our whole plan just went bust."

"Okay, so I guess we abort." Cage said

"No. We improvise." Mac told her

* * *

"All six walls are titanium. The tumblers, the dial, the locking bolts, also titanium. Two sets of re-lockers, cable-triggered and thermal, both titanium, and as if that wasn't enough, the whole thing is encased in..."

 _"Let me guess, more titanium."_ Matty said cutting Riley off over video

"No. It's M-rated ballistic plate armor. Way stronger than titanium." Riley pointed out

"So this vault could withstand a direct hit from a tank." Cage said

"Actually, it could withstand a nuclear blast." I mentioned

"So, now for the good news, right?" Bozer asked

"Sure. If by "good news" you mean more bad news. The casino's entire network has also been upgraded. I can access the cameras, but I can't hack into anything else without setting off alarms. Oh, and the clone key card doesn't work in the basement where the vault is, so, now, we need a nine-digit access code. Which changes every 30 seconds, by the way. And a way to get past the iris scanner." Riley told us

"So it sounds like breaking into this vault's gonna be impossible." Jack says

 _"Well, we're just gonna have to do the impossible because we just intercepted intel that those diamonds are gonna be used to purchase a WMD."_ Matty informed us

"Okay, I'm sorry, guys, I don't want to pick apart the way you guys do things, but why didn't we know about any of these upgrades before we came all the way out here?" Cage asked

"Well, it looks like they all happened in the last two weeks, after the casino brought in a new head of security." Mac told her

"Oh, great, we just ID that asshat, I'll go thank him personally." Jack brought up

"Actually, you already IDed her." Riley says

"Oh, did I?"

"I ran facial recognition and she popped up in Phoenix's database." Riley tells him

"Vera Kazakova, former GRU officer and expert interrogator. With some serious demons in her closet. She went into private security after more than a decade as a Russian spy." Bozer read off the laptop

"And no one gets into the vault without her. She gets a nine-digit code for the basement doors, on a 2FA app on her encrypted phone. And only her iris gets past the scanner." Riley pointed out

"I actually think I know how to get the codes off of her phone." Mac said and started to take apart a phone"

"Dude, is that my phone?" Jack asked him after checking his pockets

"Maybe."

"Well, you're just gonna go stealing it and breaking it? You ain't even gonna ask for it - no more? Just break it." Jack told him

"You'll get over it."

 _"Okay, stealing the codes is a good start. Anybody got a way to steal her iris?"_ Matty asked us

"Ooh, me. I do, I do. I saw this flick one time, where the hero rips the bad dude's eyeball out. They scan that..."

"Uh, Jack, I don't think that was the hero." Bozer says cutting him off, "And we don't need to rip out anyone's eyeball."

"I'm spitballing."

"Just get me a high-res, close-up photo of Vera's iris and I could probably get us past the scanner." Bozer told Riley

"It's hard to get a close-up if you can't even get close. If we're gonna get near Vera, we're gonna have to peel off her linebackers. Anyone got any ideas?" I asked them

"Not off the top of my head, but I'm sure you'll come up with something." Mac said to me and I gave a small smile

"The only thing left to do here is figure out which one of us is gonna get close to her." Jack said and Bozer stood up, "Ah, hey-hey, back off, Boze. I've been picking up hot chicks since the third grade, all right?"

"Oy vey." Cage groaned

"Just lucky for everybody in this room, we got a Jack Dalton."

"Are we seriously betting this entire mission on Jack's ability to flirt?" Matty asked

"Double down."

* * *

"So, you figured out how to get rid of those two yet? 'Cause if I make one more machine hit a jackpot, Vera's gonna get suspicious." Mac told me as we stood at the bar

"Actually, I'm counting on her getting suspicious." I tell him and walked over to a table putting cash down then picked up the chips the dealer gave me and walked over to one of the guards slipping one into the inside of his suit coat and leaned to his ear making a kiss noise then walked away moving past Mac who raised his eyebrow at me

 _"Okay, Jack. Just remember, "Howdy" isn't as endearing an opener as you think. This woman sniffed out liars professionally for a decade. Oh. And that guard Val just framed was just taken down to a basement level with no cameras. Which is probably where you'll be taken if you screw this up, so have fun."_ Riley told him

 _"Thanks for all the tips on how to pick up women, Riley. I'll try to pay attention next time. Just sit back, relax. I got this."_

* * *

"How's our boy doing?" Mac asked Riley, Bozer and Cage as we walked back into the room

"Disturbingly well." Bozer said

"Yeah. I'm just creeped out he used these lines to pick up my mom." Riley said and I chuckled sitting down on the other couch

"Oh, so Jack's the crazy uncle no one wants at the family gatherings." Cage pointed out

"Sadly, very accurate." Bozer told her

"And Matty's the mom. MacGyver and Boze are clearly the brothers." She said to them

"Truth." Mac said and they fist bumped causing me to smile

"Val is the distant cousin," She said and I looked at her confused then looked at Riley who shrugged, "And Riley's the rebellious little sister."

"You want to see rebellious? Keep talking." Riley told her

"Well, that sums up everyone in our little family. Everyone except for you." Mac told her

"All right, almost there, Jack. Just a little closer. We need a clean shot of the entire iris for this to work, so she has to be looking right at you." Bozer told him

 _"So, do you get hungry? I mean, you got to eat, right? I was thinking about strapping on the old feed bag. We could continue this over dinner if you'd like."_ Jack told the lady

 _"I'm working, sorry."_

 _"Yeah. Well, that's a shame 'cause I was in the mood for something fancy."_ He said

 _"Oh, yeah, and what do you consider fancy?"_

 _"Oh, Swiss on my burger instead of cheddar. Maybe some of that overpriced French mustard."_ Jack said and we see her eye look directly at Jack

"Boom! We got an eyeball. Bozer?" Riley told him

"Two custom contact lenses coming up. You're about to be a brown-eyed girl, Cage."

"Nice work, lover boy, but we still need the nine-digit code off of her cell, and the cell site simulator I built from your phone only has enough power to work at a very close range." Mac informed Jack

 _"You know, there is a Michelin-rated steak house in here. We could hop over there real quick..."_

 _"Play whatever game you want in my casino, but never gamble more than you can lose."_ The lady said cutting him off

 _"The risk might be worth the reward."_

"No, like, very close." Mac tells him and we see one of her guards whisper in her ear

 _"My man here tells me that you snapped a picture of me earlier today."_

 _"Well, nobody likes a tattletale, but yeah, I'll admit it. I got a picture of the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life."_ Jack told her

 _"Then you've seen enough."_ She says to him

 _"Fair enough."_

"If she walks now, we might not get another chance to steal that PIN." I point out

"Jack, you got to get your hand within six inches of her phone." Mac instructed

"My card, in case you change your mind. I never sleep, you can, uh, call me any time." Jack told her and Riley's laptop beeped

"Cloning her phone. Getting the algorithm for the codes."

 _"I doubt I'll need it. Mister?"_ The lady asked him

 _"Bung. Ernie Bung."_

 _"Bung?"_ She asked

 _"It's-It's a family name._ " Jack told her and she walked away _, "Oh, my God, Mac, I think I'm in love for reals, dude. After we rob this woman's casino blind, I'm going for it, off the books. You know, officially unofficial, bro."_

* * *

"How those contacts feeling?" Bozer asked Cage while she walked through the basement

 _"Mm. Considerably more comfortable than some disguises I've worn."_

"All right, Cage, just finished looping the camera feeds. Casino security won't be able to see you." Riley told her

"Once you're through the door, I'll talk you through cracking the vault." Mac said and Riley's laptop beeped

"Okay, there's the new code. You got 30 seconds to input it." Riley said and after it opened and she walked in the alarm went off

"Cage get out of there now, Cage, can you hear me?" Mac asked her

* * *

"I can't find her. Looks like they're keeping her in the basement." Riley told us

"The floor without cameras?" Bozer asked

"Maybe Cage was right. Should've listened when she said we should abort." Mac said

"What? Ab...come on, no. Stop it now. Nobody get discouraged or we're done for good. We've dug ourselves out of deeper holes than this before. We're gonna be fine. Now, we'll just use whatever gadget you whip up to crack the vault, and we'll use the same thing to bust Cage out, too." Jack mentioned to Mac

"We'll worry about Cage later. Getting the diamonds before the Red Fist can trade them for a WMD is our priority." Matty says to us

"I agree with you, Matty, but now that Vera knows someone's trying to break into her vault, she's beefed up security. What was once impossible is now impossibler." Bozer told her

"That's not a word." Mac informed him and looked at the screen, "But you're right. Going through that door is no longer an option."

"Well, if the front door is out, why don't we try the back door?" Riley asked and I looked at her confused, "The nine-digit code isn't the only thing I pulled off Vera's phone. These are blueprints for all her recent security updates." She says and we looked at her screen

"Does that look like a secret passageway to anyone else?" I asked

"More like a VIP passageway. All big hotel casinos have 'em so the big ballers can bounce in and out of the penthouse when things get messy. And things do get messy in a penthouse, let me tell you." He says then him and Bozer chuckled

"Jack has a story about one of these I do not want to hear." RIley pointed out

"Hey the passageway. It bypasses security, and it runs alongside the vault." Mac pointed out

"It looks like our luck is changing. The hotel's booking system says - the penthouse is empty." Riley told us

"Let's go." Mac tells me and Jack

* * *

"Housekeeping finished the penthouse two hours ago. You should have the place to yourselves." Riley told us and I saw the glee on Jack's face then Mac opened the door and we headed inside

"Man, this is gonna be easy." Jack says but Mac stopped him

"Shh."

"And now we know why this suite wasn't booked. They're using it for an off-the-books VIP poker game." Bozer mentioned

"Gunner Snyder. Beef jerky king of Oklahoma. I'm sure you've heard of me." Jack told them, "Especially you, big man. You look like a meat eater. This here's, uh, my manservant, Randy. His friends all call him Squeaky." He indicated to Mac, "Say hi there, Squeaky."

"Hey there."

"And this here is my lovely date for this evening," Jack said putting his arm around my waist and I tried not to throw up in my mouth, "Name's Franchesca and doesn't speak a bit of English." He said and I tried really hard not to smack him upside the head, "You know, my mouth's getting a little dry there, Squeak. Why don't we sprinkle the infield, huh?" He says to Mac who walked over to the bar, "All right. What's the buy-in, slick?" Jack asked the dealer

"The buy-in is 500, sir."

"Ooh, five hundy? A little lightweight for a super secret game up in the penthouse, ain't it, boys?" Jack asked them

"$500,000, sir." The dealer said and I glanced at Mac

"Yeah, that's, uh th-that's a good warm-up, good idea. Tell you what, uh, Randell, why don't you call that bank, free up some loose change? Think I'll jump in here." Jack said to Mac and sat down, "Uh sweetie why don't you pull up right here and be my good luck charm huh?" He says to me and pulled another chair over that I sat down in, Of course, now, we, uh, you know, we do, uh, we do all the favorites. We got your, uh, mesquite, your teriyaki, your habanero. But our best seller and my personal favorite Salted molasses bourbon jerky. I know it sounds weird, but I'm gonna have Squeaky set you guys up with some samples and an address where to send thank-you cards. You know what I mean, my man?" Jack asked the guy next to me, "What is that?" Jack asked them and flashed his cards onto the table, "Blam." Then the lady next to him laid her cards down

"Full house." The dealer said

"Ooh almost had you there." Jack says to her, "Though, you know where it really gets interesting is when you start to get into those novelty meats. I'm not talking about baby seal, anything like that, but have you had ostrich? You ever had the big bird? Ostrich jerky it'll change your life, big man." He said to the one guy, "Hey uh sweetie." He said to me but I pretended not to hear him, "Hey," He tapped me on the shoulder so I looked at him and he raised his hands indicating me to get something to drink so I smiled and nodded then got up and walked over to Mac at the bar and he glanced at me

"Jack's lucky I don't have my gun." I whispered to him and he gave a small chuckle

* * *

"Damn, again?! What is that, like, 90 grand? Kojak, throw in the Tootsie Pop, babe, you're killing it. Me, on the other hand, I feel like I'm starting to tread water in the shallow end, you know what I mean?" Jack tells the others as I stood at the book shelf pretending to look at the books as Mac walked over with his glass, "You know, fun fact. You know the one breed of dog that can't swim? Huh? Nobody?"

"Found the door. Now I just need to slip through before any..." Mac whispered but then Vera walked into the room

"Chihuahua, taped to a cinder block..." Jack continued and we see her stand behind him

"Good afternoon, all. I trust everyone's enjoying the game?" She asked everyone

"Is there a problem, Ms. Kazakova?" the one player asked her as she walked around the table then sat down

"Oh, no, not at all. I just like to sneak up and play a few hands when things are quiet on the floor. Or when something more exciting is happening up here. I thought you were going to dinner." She says to Jack

"Hmm. Uh Well, I'm a man of many appetites."

"I can see that. I'm sorry, what was your name again, Mister?" She asked him

"Ernie. But my friends they, they call me Gunner."

"I'd like to meet these friends." Vera told him and they chuckled, "Raise 200,000." She said putting chips in

"I'm all in." Jack told her

"How about we play for something worth more than money?" She asked him

"Okay. What do you have in mind?"

"I found something. Actually, I borrowed something from your friend." Vera said and put a container of contacts on the table, "And I don't think she's the only one that you have in my casino. Actually, I think two of them is with us now, right here in this room." She says then suddenly Jack flipped the table and Mac pulled the book opening the door dropping his drink then grabbed my hand pulling me through and we make our way down the stairs

"Riley, me and Val are headed down, but Vera's got Jack." He informed her

 _"He'll be all right. He's Jack. Just get to the vault."_ She told him and we peaked around the corner then moved around it but we ducked behind some pipes

"Okay, I'm almost there. Once I get to the vault, I'll probably need 30 minutes to crack."

 _"Mac? Everything all right? Can you get to the vault?"_ Riley asked him

"Yeah, I can. I just I don't need to anymore. The Red Fist is here, and they have the diamonds

* * *

"Mac, Val, I've got Red Fist on the move. Once they leave the casino, I can tag their vehicles and task a satellite to track 'em." Riley informed us

"Guys, I don't think they're leaving." Mac said and we see them get into an elevator

"No, they're not. They're going up." I mentioned

"What'd they forget to pack?" Bozer asked

"Riley, can you track that elevator?" Mac asked her and the elevator doors closed as me and Mac got to them, then Mac toke apart a metal sign then pryed open the doors to the elevator and hooked it onto the bottom of the elevator and grabbed me by the waist, "Hold on." He said and we started to go up and I quickly wrapped my arms around his shoulders. Not gonna lie my heart was beating so hard and fast right now not only because I was being lifted up by an elevator but because I was holding onto Mac.

* * *

After a while the elevator stopped and I kicked my legs to the edge by the door under it and Mac followed then opened it helping me in then jumped over, "Riley, we're on 49. Means Red Fist is on the 50th. We need eyes up there. Any luck getting the cameras back?" He asked her

 _"No, but I found some new ones. Let me scan the 50th floor." She tells us and there was a pause, "I got eyes again, Mac. I couldn't get into the security cams, so I gave myself access to the built-in cameras in every hotel TV."_

"That's kind of creepy." I point out as we walk through the halls

 _"Mac, the sale is going down right now. The WMD the Red Fist is buying is in the hotel."_ Matty tells us

"All right, Mac, we're looking at at least seven unfriendlies here, man. As much as I'm a fan o-of charging in there headlong, I don't think the front door is such a good choice here, man." Jack told him

"No door? No problem. I'll just take the window." Mac said and grabbed the vacuum cleaner off the maid's cart and walked over to the window

"Okay if you're gonna do what I think you're gonna do I'm sorry but I don't want to hold onto you for that one." I tell him and he chuckled

"No that's fine I need you to meet up with Jack and Cage." He said and I nodded my head making my way to the staircase

* * *

"Okay, we're in position and read..." Jack began to say peaking out of the door but Cage's hair hit him int the face, "...ready. Do your thing, Spider-Mac."

"You guys should probably cover your ears." He says and I put my fingers in my ears then a loud bang went off so we ran to the guards outside of the room and I hit one on the head with my elbow then swung my leg up kicking him across the face and we enter the room and I take another one down.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jack asked Mac as we walked over and saw the device beeping

"A nuclear weapon? Just a baby one. It's only half a megaton or so."

"Adorable. Can you disarm it?" Cage asked him

"Uh yeah, if I had a couple of hours."

"Well, what if you had 14 minutes and 37 seconds?" Jack asked

"Yeah."

"36. 35." Jack began counting down

"I'll think of something."

"Four three two..." Jack continued and stood up

"Probably."

* * *

 _"Guys, Vera is locking the place down. Whatever you're doing, I suggest you avoid the lobby entirely."_ Riley informed us as we get into an elevator

"Okay, once we get the nuke to the lobby, what then? We-We get it outside?" Jack asked

"We can't take it outside. It may just be a suitcase nuke, but it'll still kill everyone within five city blocks." Mac told him

"Hmm, only five."

"We can't disarm it, can't take it outside, can't leave it here. I must be missing the plan." Cage says

"Yeah, yeah, that makes three of us." I point out

"Oh, come on." Mac groaned and pounded on the elevator wall

"Mac, please tell me you have a plan." Jack says to him

"I have a plan. Just I'm not sure if it's gonna work."

* * *

"My plan." He says as we get to the vault

"You said the vault could withstand a nuclear blast." Cage says to me

"And I'm hoping it can also contain one." Mac mentioned

"I also remember you saying busting in here was gonna take you at least a half hour." Jack told him and Mac put the case in his arms

"Yeah, well, we got seven minutes and 49 seconds."

"Well, is that enough time?" Jack asked him

"At this point, we have no choice but to roll the dice."

"Roll the dice?" Jack asked and we walked into a storage room filled with old casino equipment

"Bingo."

"Wha..I think you mean "jackpot", we're in a casino." Jack corrected

"Shh!"

"We're in a casino." Jack says again looking at me and Cage

"Plug this in right there." Mac told me handing a cord to me from a game and I plugged it into a wall, "Jack, stand those two roulette wheels on their side with the metal tops facing each other, about an inch apart."

"Like this?" Jack asked

"And then, uh, yeah, take that, put it in between these." Mac says to Cage indicating to the poker table and she moved it between the roulette tables

"Mac, how is whatever this thing is gonna get us in there?" Cage asked him

"Well, how much do you know about Lorentz forces?" He asked her tearing a wire off the wall

"Never heard of it."

"Well, they're really interesting." He says and walked over to the vault

"Yeah, to who?" Jack asked and I smacked his arm

"See, the slot machines feed current to the roulette wheels, which acts as a giant capacitor storing a charge..."

"You know what? Time's ticking. I'll take your word for it." Cage tells him

"Yeah, I'm with her." Jack agrees

"Well, good thing I'm done. So, let's get out of here." He says grabbing a wire and moving back to me and Cage, "Move back. You trying to die? Get out of there." He tells Jack who moved towards us then Mac pulled the wire but nothing happened

"Maybe you didn't do it right." Jack says and there was a small explosion, we see the vault knob was smaller

"Mac, did you just..." I started to ask

"Shrink the metal? Yeah." He says taking his coat off and pulled the knob out then opened it

"Let's go, let's go. Less than a minute." Jack tells us and went inside, "Oh." He says and looked at all the money on the vault

"Jack." I warn him as he hands Cage the device then grabbed some money

"We don't have to blow up all this cash doing it. Let's take some."

"Jack." Mac says to him

"Hey, I'm taking it. It's hazard pay." Jack said and Mac smacked it out of his hands then moved him out of the vault and shut the door locking it as me, Cage and Jack moved back then Mac followed grabbing my hand as we ran then suddenly and explosion went off and we were knocked to our feet.

"That was awesome!" Mac and Jack cheered after he helped me up and they laughed as Jack spung Cage around and Mac lifted me up into a hug and I laughed then we looked at each for a moment then began walking with Jack and Cage

"You just used a vault to contain a nuclear blast." Cage pointed out

"Yeah, yeah. I guess I did."

"Let's pop it open, get some of that sweet moolah, daddy." Jack tells him

"We don't want to do that. Anything that wasn't vaporized is gonna be radioactive for 10,000 years, so..."

"10,000?" Jack asked, "That's, uh, that's a no. That's a no."

* * *

"Hey." Mac says to Bozer and Riley as we walk up to them

"Mac."

"Hey, you guys all right?" Riley asked us

"Considering we were just 30 feet from a nuclear explosion, yeah, pretty good." Cage answered and I smiled

"Hey, guys, members of the Red Fist are in cuffs. We just saved a city full of people. So, not so bad considering." Mac tells them

"All the money is gone." Jack says

"You almost got blown up." Riley added

"You guys got captured." Bozer pointed out

"All right, well, besides all that." Mac mentioned and we laughed

"So, you hacked my cameras, you attacked my guards, and now you destroyed my vault." Vera tells us walking over

"But you met your soul mate." Jack said and I put my head in my hand

"Uh, and about the vault, before you pop that thing open, you're gonna want to send a hazmat team in there." Mac told her

"What I want to do is throw you all in a cell and lose the key. But I'm not gonna do that because you saved my casino and all the guests. You have ten minutes to leave."

"Hey, that gives us about nine and a half minutes to have a quick drinky-poo." Jack tells her and they both chuckle

"You have ten minutes to leave the country." She tells him and walked away

"I, uh, I wasn't kidding about the vault. Radiation poisoning makes for bad Yelp reviews." Mac told her as the others walked away

"Leave. If you don't get out, I'm going to shoot you."

"It's not a..." He began to say but I pulled on his arm then he wrapped it around my shoulder laughing, I smiled at him and tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach

* * *

"Frickity, frickity fresh doughnuts, y'all." Jack said walking onto Mac's deck holding a box and a holder of poker chips, "Poppin' hot right from the oven." He says and me, Matty, Riley and Bozer as start to laugh, "What's so funny?"

"I might have made a few calls and tracked down a few new ID photos for your dossier." Mac told him

"Seriously? Y'all are laughing at photos of my bare buttocks?" He asked us as Matty held the album

"Yes." We answered

"Oh, nice. I thought we were playing poker."

"We will once we're done with this." Matty said and I laughed then stood up and walked to the cooler that was by Mac and grabbed out a beer

"Don't...where did you even get those?" Jack asked Mac, "No. Don't answer that. I don't care. Doesn't matter. I was gonna share my doughnuts with everybody, but now I think I will share them with.." He says and opened them up holding it to Mac but then moved it away when he reached for one, "Ms. Cage."

"Why me?" She asked him taking one

"For getting my back."

"Uh, don't you mean for saving your little booty?" Bozer asked him and they started to laugh which Jack mocked then handed the box to Cage

"Hold that. Yeah, I'm-a get a piece, I'm-a get a piece of your butt. Tighten you up real quick." Jack says to him as he began to chase Bozer and we all laughed

"Help, Mac!" Bozer yells

* * *

After I got done in the bathroom I started to head out when Cage stopped me, "Hey, you ok?" I asked her and she nodded

"Val, I know I'm still new here but I was wondering. Is there something going on with you and Mac?" She asked me and I was taken by surprise then looked out at Mac sitting at the table while they played

"No, no there isn't why?" I asked and she smirked at me, "What?" I asked with a nervous smile

"Oh nothing, just the way you two are with each other, I kind of thought that..."

"We're just friends." I said cutting her off

"But you want to be more then his friend right?"

"Geez 20 questions." I laughed and she smiled, "I don't know to be honest. Do I like him more then a friend? Yes. Can I act on that? No."

"Why not?" She asked and I looked out at Mac again

"Because once he finds out who I am, he'll look at me differently."

"And who are you?" She asks

"Story for a different time." I tell her then walked past and outside again sitting down with the others.


	4. Chapter 4

**You can run, but you can't hide**

 **Mac POV...**

"Hey, Jack, me again." I said into my phone after I opened my front door putting my bags down then shut it, "Message number five. You were right about everything. The professor was a dead end." I said walking to the kitchen and stepped in some water, "Uh, yeah, just call me back." I hung up and saw a note on the fridge from Bozer saying he fixed it and I chuckled, "Almost, Boze. Almost." I said and dialed Jack again putting it on speaker setting my phone on the counter then moved the fridge out

 _"Hey, you've reached the one and only Jack Dalton, you lucky dog. Leave a message after the boopity-beep, and of course, go, Cowboys."_

"Message number six. And, yes, I know you're putting me straight to voice mail." I said walking over to the drawer and pulled out a roll of electrical tape, "Looks like I'm gonna be home for a while fixing the fridge, so if you want to stop by, I've got an apology and some warm beer with your name on it." I said and hung up then my doorbell rang. I walked over wiping my shoes on the rug then opened it seeing a couple men with masks on standing there and one tazed me making me fall down and I looked up at them.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"I mean, just the thought of him in this house again.." Bozer tells us as we sat in Mac's living room after Jack called us to it

"Do you really think he has Mac? What about that guy you grabbed in Paris?" Riley asked Jack

"No, that guy's sucking soup through a straw in a dark hole somewhere, thanks to an old buddy of mine at the French Ministry of Defense. No, my my Spidey-senses are all telling me the same thing. It's Murdoc." He says and I continued looking at the ground

"Pull up every traffic camera in the area. I want eyes on every vehicle in the last ten hours." Matty says and Bozer moved over to the computer

"No offense to your Spidey-senses, Jack, but it's not like this Murdoc signed his name on the wall." Cage pointed out

"He might as well have."

"A pocket knife sticking out of a wine bottle, and a mask." Cage tells him

"That's Mac's little red knife out there stuck in the same wine bottle he used to blast Murdoc out that back window, next to the same geriatric mask he was wearing the first time he attacked us." Jack mentioned

"I really need to throw that thing away." Bozer says

"Yes, please do. Riley. Riley, can you find anything?" Jack asked her

"I'm working as fast as I can, Jack."

"Okay, just, come on, just, just a little bit faster, please, please." Jack says and sits back down and Matty walked over to him

"Hey, this wasn't your fault." She tells him

"Then whose is it?"

"Not yours." She says and I looked out the window seeing the forensic team process everything.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

I sat tied to a chair as Murdoc stood in front of me then dragged another chair over then pushed on the needle in my arm making my scream, "Oh, good, you can still feel pain. Setting the dose was tricky. Had to give you enough to slow you down, but not so much that you passed out. See, I need you to do something for me, MacGyver." He told me and sat down in front of me

"If that something is telling you where Cassian is, you can forget it." I tell him

"Oh, I know you're not just gonna blurt out where my son's being held. That is going to require some convincing."

"You know, Murdoc, you're wasting your time. Even if you do find him, once he learns who you are, he's never gonna want to be with you." I point out to him

"I strongly disagree. Sons need their fathers. You are living proof of that. Or was there some other reason why you have just returned from dining alone on the Seine? That's right. I know all about the blond Boy Scout's search for his long-lost papa bear. How is that going, by the way? Making any progress?" He asked me but I didn't say anything, "Your silence speaks volumes. All those years without him, you must have felt so alone. So unprotected."

"We can't pick our fathers, Murdoc. It's a lesson your son is gonna have to learn someday." I tell him

"Perhaps. But the difference is that Cassian's father is looking for him as we speak, while your daddy doesn't seem to want anything to do with you." He said and I went to move forward but groaned in pain, "Oh, careful, careful, please. Hurting you is my job."

"Get on with it, then."

"Okay." He says and he chuckled, "Would you tell Da Vinci to "get on with it" while he was painting the Mona Lisa, huh?" He asked standing up, "Would you tell Van Gogh to step it up while he was painting Starry Night?" He turned the chair around then sat back down in front of me, "Say did I ever tell you about Cassian's mother? Nadia. She was a lovely woman. I met her while on a job. It was supposed to be quick, a day or two, but one thing led to another. Next thing you know, Nadia has a bun in the oven and somewhere along the way, we fell in love."

"No, you didn't. You're not capable of love." I point out to him

"Okay, fine. She fell in love. I found her less repulsive than most humans, well her and another one but potato, potahto."

"Is there a point to this?" I asked him

"Oh, yes. A very pointy point. You see, the day that Cassian was born, Nadia was happier than I had ever seen her before. And as the nurse gently placed him into her arms, I knew that that was the moment I had been waiting for." He tells me and I figured it out

"You didn't meet Nadia on the job. She was the job." I mentioned

"I suffocated her with the very same pillow upon which she rested her head after bringing my son into this world. One life ended while another began. It was beautiful and poetic and almost Shakespearian."

The last story that you told me was a total lie, so how much of this one is actually true?" I asked him, "I'm guessing none of it."

"Every single word." He says standing up

"Wait you said Nadia and another one. Who was the other one?" I asked him and he gave me that creepy smile

"Oooh. You'll find out eventually."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Okay, I scanned all the footage. Eight cars drove out of this neighborhood around the time Mac was taken. A DMV search gives us names and addresses on seven of the license plates." Riley informed us

"And the eighth?" Matty asked her

"According to the DMV, that license plate won't even be issued for another six months."

"That's him. That's Murdoc." I said and Jack stood up cocking his gun

"Got to be."

"Got his car parked outside a warehouse in Sylmar." Riley told us

"Go. Now." Matty says to me, Cage and Jack then we run out of the house making our way to Jack's car

"Okay, uh, how much ammo do you have on you, Cage?" Jack asked her

"Same as always. Three clips. One in the gun, two in the belt."

"Val?" He asked me

"Same as Cage."

"Why?" Cage asked him

"Because when it comes to this maniac, you can never have enough." He says and we get in, I let Cage in first then got in the passenger seat. Jack started the car and backed up but stopped and I looked back seeing Bozer standing there

"Bozer, what the hell are you doing?" I asked him opening my door

"I'm coming."

"No, you're not." Jack told him getting out

"Mac's my best friend. I'm going."

"Hey, look, I know you want to help, okay? But this is Murdoc we're talking about. You remember him, right?" Jack asked him

"Of course."

"Of course. Okay. So, you know when the bullets start flying, I can't be worried about watching Mac's back and keeping an eye on your tiny ass at the same time." Jack says to him

"All right, I'll make this simple. If you don't want me to go, shoot me. Short of that, shut up, let's get in the car and drive."

"Guys, we're wasting time." I tell them

"All right, but you better stay behind me at all times. You hear? Or one of theirs." Jack said to him indicating to me and Cage

"All right."

"The whole time." Jack said again

"All right! I promise. Cross my heart and hope to.."

"Don't. Don't say that." Jack says to him

"Okay, yeah, that was a bad choice of words. I got you, Jack." Bozer tells him and gets in the back with Cage

"Let's go." Cage says and Jack got in

"This is a bad idea, man."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Wakey, wakey, sleepy Angus." Murdoc says slapping me across the face and I open my eyes, "It's not naptime. Not yet, at least. We have so many fun games to play. I think you're really gonna like 'em. Well, maybe not like. But I really think you're gonna be impressed with the game pieces I've so lovingly crafted. You inspire me, MacGyver." He said and chuckled, "The way that you make something out of another thing. I love that. So, I went to my trusty old tools, and I gave them a fresh, new twist. And I am beyond excited to share them with you."

"The longer you torture me, the more time Jack has to..."

"To find us?" He asked then shook his head, "Mm. I'm afraid that's not going to happen.

"I have hidden you away quite well, my friend. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go prepare my new tools. And then we can get started." He tells me leaving the room and i moved my head down to my arm ripping the needle out then put it in the one handcuff and freed my hand then did it to my other one.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

Jack turned down the next street and continued to speed, I looked back at Bozer and Cage then looked at Jack, "Jack. We're gonna find him." I tell him but he continued looking forward driving the same speed.

* * *

"We're clear over here. How we doing down there?" Jack asked me and Cage after we get to the warehouse and look around

"Guys?" I hear Bozer say and we run over to him seeing a dead body and run over to it, "Guys." Bozer repeated as we run past him

"Bozer." I whispered to him to be quiet and we get to the bodies.

"Ooh, yeah, this is doornail dead right here. Double tap, right to the back. Look at that. You see that, Bozer?" Jack asked him

"I see it, Jack."

"Same here. This was an execution." I point out

"The only way three people can keep a secret is if two of them are dead." Bozer mentioned and Jack moved past us to a puddle on the ground

"Yeah, it looks like the getaway vehicle had quite the oil leak. You know, I'm guessing once Murdoc offed all the, uh, nonessential personnel, he split and he took our boy with him."

"So how do we find him now?" Bozer asked

"We don't." Jack told him

"What do you mean we don't?"

"I mean, we don't." Jack repeats and I looked at Bozer

"He means the trail's gone cold. If Mac doesn't save himself, no one will." I point out

"He'll be all right." Jack says and I looked at the dead bodies with a sigh. Mac was the smartest person I know, my friend who made me feel welcome from day one, my friend who I had strong feelings for but could never tell him. Not just because we were teammates, but because of my past.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

I made my way through the sewers trying to keep myself moving even though the drugs in my system were making it hard.

"Macgyver, come out and play" I hear Murdoc sing but I kept moving hearing the distant shouting in the streets above and I focused on finding a way out, I needed to get out of this for my team, for Val. She was always on my mind and for the longest time I couldn't figure out why but then I did when we were on our last mission with the diamonds and I saw her in her dress, I liked her, more then a friend, and holding onto her as we hung onto the elevator then grabbing her hand running from the explosion I felt my skin tingle, my heart raced whenever she walked into the room or I thought about her, and when she smiles at me I feel my body melt. But she's my teammate, my friend, I want to tell her how I feel so badly but I'm just worried it'll affect the rest of the team if I can't emotionally compromised, or if we broke up what would happen. I couldn't focus on that right now, right now I needed to survive this.

I came to a ladder and climbed up it opening the man hole cover and crawled out onto a busy street, "Whoa, watch it, man." One of the drivers says as the drive past me and I hear horns honking but I focused on walking toards some people sitting at a bunch of tables outside

"Help me." I begged them then fell to the ground passing out

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"We're running tox screens on your blood right now, Mac. We should know what Murdoc dosed you with soon." Matty tells him as we stand in the infirmary

"If I had my guess, I'd say something in the nightshade family. Atropine, hyoscyamine, scopolamine..."

"The important thing is, we got you back. Now, all I have to do is go find Murdoc and start breaking bones." Jack says

"How, Jack? We have zero leads." Matty tells him

"Not zero. We got one. We know Murdoc was holding him in an underground room, right?"

"And how do you propose we find this underground room?" Bozer asked him

"I don't know. But if he found a way out, we should be able to find a way back in there. I mean, even if Lord Nutbar's not there anymore, something in there might-might help us hunt him down, you know what I mean?"

"Well, from the spot Mac surfaced, there are miles of sewer tunnels. Searching them all could take days." Riley says

"Or weeks." Bozer added, "Mac, there's got to be something you can remember. I mean, other than popping out of a manhole and almost getting killed by a car."

"Cars. There was definitely more than one car." Mac pointed out

"Yeah, okay, b-but before that, when you were walking around in the sewer, do you remember seeing any, uh, signs, graffiti?" Jack asked and I stepped forward

"Stop, stop. I need a minute alone, just with Mac and Riley." I tell everyone

"What for?" Jack asked me

"Loftus and Palmer, 1974. Their experiments proved how even the most seemingly benign questions can alter a witness' memories. Even create false ones. I need his memories pure. Which means I need everyone but Riley to leave." I said to them

"Yeah, okay. Um, but we're gonna be in that room right there. I'm not taking my eyes off you." Jack told him and they all walked out except for Riley

"We're gonna play a little memory game. It's one Rudyard Kipling wrote about. It's called the Jewel Game. Now everyone calls it.."

"KIM." Mac finishes, "Keep In Memory. We learned it in EOD training."

"Good. So, whenever you're ready, you can close your eyes, put yourself back in the place where Murdoc took you. Here's the catch: you don't name what you see, but rather, you describe everything around you." I tell him and he sighed then closed his eyes

"All right, I'm-I'm sitting in a chair, just..." He says and stopped looking like he was struggling so I walked over and held his hands

"Okay, just remember simpler. Just the visceral. You can describe colors, shapes, textures, sounds, smells."

"It's damp. Smells like, uh mold. Burnt motor oil. And bleach. I'm sitting on metal. It's cold. It's rough in spots, it's jagged. It's old. All around me are flat, rough, gray rectangles. There are hard, smooth bands cutting into my wrists, and a there's a pain in my right arm. Just below the.." He stopped and and gasped opening his eyes but I still held his hands

"It's okay, it's okay. It's okay. It's vivid recall. It's really normal. Just lets you know the game is working. Just, whenever you're ready, if you can go back.." I tell him and he sighed again

"Yeah, the sound of, uh, metal, it was jingling. There's a strip of wood around a gray metal rectangle. I can feel cold air seeping in from the other side. It's a way out. Uh, I'm on a path now, it's cylindrical. I can hear splashing it's wet, it-it's water. It's-it's moving with me. And after about 20 minutes, I heard, I heard something. It was, like, uh b-bells. Ch-Church bells. But it wasn't just church bells. It was something else, it was another sound. Right after the church bells started, there was a second sound, it was harsher. Second sound, it was, uh..Air raid siren? Fire station. It was a fire station." He said opening his eyes, "Means I know how to figure out where I was."

"You do?" I asked him and looked down at my hands then took them away from his

"Yeah. It was, um Church bells, they ring every half hour. And it was about 15 minutes before I crawled out of the manhole. So 1:30 p.m. And by law, the LAFD keeps a record of every siren, so, Riley, maybe you can..."

"An alarm sounded at Grand Street Fire Station at 1:29." She told him

"1:29 and how many seconds? It's..it's kind of important."

"Fifty-eight." She says

"Fifty-eight. 58 seconds, okay," He got off the bed and grabbed a marker going to the window that the others were watching us through, "That fire alarm, it sounded before the church bells. But I heard it after. And that's because sound travels at 340 meters per second, approximately, and it propagates out into a circle, so I have to solve for the radius, but you know what? You guys don't need an explanation, right? I can just do the math?" Mac asked us

"No, I'm good.

"Yeah, go nuts." Riley adds and he continued to write

"So, we are looking for a sewer tunnel that is 1,020 meters from a church and 1,700 meters from that fire station." He tells Riley and walked over to her

"Can we come out now?" Jack asked me and I chuckled then nodded for them to come in

"I got two that fit your criteria, but only one where the water is flowing towards your exit point." Riley informed him

"That's perfect. Okay. So, I was drugged, disoriented, probably moving no more than 1. 5 miles per hour. Which would put Murdoc's torture room right about there." Mac said pointing to a spot on the map

* * *

"We clear?" Jack asked a TAC team member after they walked into the room and looked around

"Yes, sir."

"Double check, we can't be too sure with this guy. Let's go, let's go." Jack told them

"Got something over here." Riley said and we walked over seeing a bunch of different tools sitting on a table

"Looks like Murdoc forgot to put away his toys." I point out

"And I think he left a message for Mac. Check this out." Bozer says and we walk over to a wall seeing a message

 _BE SEEING YOU_

"Tear this place apart." Matty told everyone and we all split off. I walked into a different room with my gun raised looking around when my phone chimed and I looked at it seeing a text message from an unknown number

 _I'm watching you_

I dropped my phone and smashed it with my shoe and looked around then heard a gun shot go off so I followed it seeing Mac helping Cage walk over to a medic.

* * *

"We checked every rooftop and window on every building on his sight line for over a mile and got bupkis. There is no sign of Captain Crazypants anywhere, Matty." Jack told her as we walked in

"Well, then, look harder."

"We...Fine." Jack said then both him, Mac and the TAC team went to walk out.

"Matty, maybe we should go with my plan." I tell her and she looked at me

"No, out of the question."

"What plan would that be?" Mac asked and I looked at him then Matty and sighed

"Using myself as bait." I tell them and they all looked at me confused, "If Murdoc is still around here I could try and draw him out."

"How?" Cage asked and I ignored Matty shaking her head at me

"I had Matty hide something from all of you for awhile now that I'm not...not really proud of." I said and they still looked at me, "Murdoc is my father." I tell them and saw different expressions come from all of them.

"Your...how?" Bozer asked me

"Do I really have to tell you how? Because that's not something I wanna do."

"No I think he means...we only thought he had one kid." Riley mentioned

"Cassian is my half brother, and the rest is a long complicated story that we don't have time for."

"I agree, and about your plan it's a no. We'll think of something else but in the meantime I need your eyes on something we found over here blondie." Matty told him and I looked at Mac who was looking at me then I looked at the ground as he walked over to her

"We found a trash can full of ashes. Looks like Murdoc tried to cover his tracks." Riley told him

"Yeah, this is the biggest piece. Feels like photo paper, but we can't make out the image." Bozer added

"Hey, you don't have a portable X-ray machine in your field kit, do you?" Mac asked one of the forensic guys

"In the SUV, but why would you?"

"Don't ask questions. Just go get it." Matty told the guy and he left.

"I, uh, I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I need to go back into the room Murdoc planned to kill me in and turn off all the lights." Mac says to us grabbing a camera and one of the lights unplugging it then walked away and we followed him into the room and I stood at the top of the stairs next to Bozer, "That photo's days of reflecting visible light are over. The fire scorched most of the emulsion. But if there are any silver bromide crystals left, they should still glow if we hit them with enough X-rays." He explained and the forensic guy handed me the light which I past to Bozer and Riley handed it to Mac, "Thank you. That's why I'm opening this portable X-ray emitter and removing the voltage resister. If I swap it for a penny, I can use the copper to rebuild the connection, and get a higher output of X-rays."

"Is it safe?" Bozer asked him

"I would recommend stepping back and covering yourselves." He said and finished what he was making, "Val, the lights?" He asked me and I turned to the switch turning the lights off

"Uh, Mac? I don't see anything." Bozer tells him

"You don't, but the camera sure does. Lights again." He says and I turned them back on, "It's called X-ray fluorescence." Mac says and we moved down the stairs while Riley walked over to him

"It's called a damn miracle." Matty said

"That's about all I can do. Riley, do you think you can clean this up? Get us a good look at the face?" Mac asked her and she opened up her laptop

"Actually, I think I can clear this up enough to let my facial recognition software do its thing."

"Nice." Mac says and I saw him glance at me but I looked forward

"All right. We got a hit." Riley told us

"Hey. Hey." Bozer says walking over to her, "Nice work, Riley. Which database did you find our mystery man in?"

"CDE."

"Wait, the California Department of Education?" I asked her

"Yeah."

"Look, if Murdoc destroyed the picture, we have to assume this teacher is his next victim." Matty pointed out

* * *

After a long awkward car ride with Jack and Mac we get to the teachers house and Mac knocked on the door then it opened, "Uh, Mr. Fletcher? Mr. Henry Fletcher?"

"That's me. Can I help you?"

"Yeah, we..we have reason to believe that there may be an international assassin on his way here now. To kill you."

"May we come in?" Jack asked him then walked past as me and Mac followed

"I don't understand. This is insane." Mr. Fletcher says to us

"I know it must feel that way, but we need to get you to protective custody immediately." Mac told him

"B-Because of this man, this Murdoc?"

"We think he's been hired to kill you." I tell him

"Why would someone be hired to kill me? W-Why would anyone want me dead?"

"Those are both really good questions, Mr. Fletcher, to be answered at another time, like, when this Murdoc fella is safely back behind a set of three-inch bars. You know what I'm saying?" Jack says walking over to me and Mac

"And until then, we're gonna take you to a secure facility where you will be safe." Mac added

"I can't just leave. I-I've got papers to grade, uh, parent-teacher conferences."

"Not anymore, you don't. Just go pack your stuff, dude, 'cause in ten minutes, we're hitting the road with whatever you can shove in a bag." Jack told him and he looked at us

"This is insane."

"No. Insane is the man who's coming for you. And believe me, you don't want to meet him." I said to him and Mac looked at me.

* * *

"O-Okay, okay. You now have less than six minutes to pack your stuff." Jack told Mr. Fletcher as he started to walk up the stairs, I strongly suggest you utilize that time knocking it out. Let's go."

"But.."

"Henry. I know this is a lot, and I promise we'll answer every question you have when we're in the car. But right now, we just need you to gather your stuff. Please." Mac begged him

"Let's go. Let's go." Jack told him and Mr. Fletcher walked up the stairs and Jack looked at me, "Okay so I still don't get it..."

"Really Jack? Now?" I asked him

"I just want to understand why you didn't tell us."

"Because..." I started to say then glanced at Mac, "Because I knew you all would stop trusting me."

"Val we aren't..."

 _"Alpha-Bravo-Omega. How we looking, guys?"_ Cage asked over our radios cutting Mac off

 _"All clear."_

 _"Same."_

 _"Yeah, nada."_

 _"Okay. So we're three minutes from rolling out with the package."_ Cage said and Mr. Fletcher walked into the room

"He's got a gun, Mac!" Jack yells and Mac pushed me down then got in front of me as we got shot at and he liffted up the coffee table covering us while I pulled out my gun then we hid behind a wall with Jack

 _"Shots fired. I repeat: shots fired. Murdoc's breached the perimeter. I need all agents at Fletcher's house."_ I hear Cage say over the radio

"It's not Murdoc, it's the teacher." I tell her

"You okay?" Mac asked Jack

"Got ten fingers, ten toes. You both all right?"

"Really confused, but I'll be fine. Who the hell is this guy?" Mac asked

"I was gonna ask you the same thing." Jack said and we hear a door close

"Schoolteacher's on the move, Cage. Headed your way, coming in hot!" I warned her then followed MAc with Jack behind me as we ran out of the house seeing a car drive past Cage as she rolled onto the hood

"Cage! You okay?" Mac asked her

"Yeah. But you really need to work on your timing."

"Yeah, he'll have to work on it later. Right now, we have a psychotic fifth grade teacher to catch." Jack says and we get in the car following him, "Schoolteachers don't drive like this, man."

"You think?" Cage asked and suddenly we get shot at so we all ducked

"And they don't shoot like that, either. Who is this guy?" Mac asked

 _"Working on it. Boze, you got something for me, or am I gonna have to come down there and start ripping out his floorboards myself?"_ Matty asked him over the radio

 _"Save your manicure. I just found a stash of passports and I.D.s. You getting these, Riley?"_

 _"Yep. Looks like our boy Henry was quite the world traveler."_ Riley says

 _"With a different name in every port."_ Matty added

 _"And bad luck seems to follow him wherever he goes. I'm running his alter egos through the NSA database. Every time one of his passports was recorded entering a country, someone in that country vanished. A journalist in Kiev, a prosecutor in Berlin, a banker in Shenzhen..."_

"I think we're looking at a fader." I point out

 _"A fader?"_ Riley asked me

"You want someone to go out with a bang, you hire Murdoc. But you want someone to just fade away..."

 _"You hire Fletcher. So he's a hit man."_ Riley concluded

"Yeah, that kind of became clear to us when he tried to murder us with a machine-gun pistol." Jack says

"But why would Murdoc be hunting another professional killer?" Mac asked

 _"You know who might know that? Fletcher. So why don't you four focus on catching him?"_ Matt asked us

"Um, Matty, someone's trying to calling us." Riley says to her over the radio

 _"Put it through."_

 _"Matilda and Riley."_ I hear the voice that makes my blood freeze and my body tense _"Two of my favorite people. How have you been since I almost killed you and everyone at your organization?"_

 _"Well, why don't you stop by the Phoenix and see for yourself, Murdoc? I have a bunch of agents that would just love a face-to-face with you."_ Matty tells him

 _"Tempting, but my calendar's so full. Gonna have to take a rain check. I'm so happy that the boys and...my daughter got to meet Henry, though. That man is full of surprises."_

"So kidnapping Mac was what? Your crazy way of tricking us into taking out your competition? Didn't want to do the dirty work yourself, huh?" I asked him over the radio

 _"Oh ho there she is the prodigal daughter."_ Murdoc says and Mac looked back at me, _"On the contrary. I live for the dirty work. In this case, it made more sense to let you handle Henry."_

"So, what happened, Murdoc? Fletcher steal a few jobs from you? Maybe your clients were looking to work with someone a lot more stable." Matty says to him

 _"Hurtful, Matilda. Hurtful. And here I thought we were friends."_

 _"Friends? No. It's hard to be friends with someone who kidnaps one of my operatives and shoots another."_ Matty told him

 _"In the vest! My little way of welcoming Cage to the team. Honestly, it was more of a love tap. Just like the one I'll give my daughter if we are ever reunited."_ Murdoc said and I clenched my fists, _"Well, I hope any hard feelings won't stop you from catching Fletcher. You have to admit, the world will be a better place with him behind bars. What's the alternative? Letting him go?"_

"No. Of course not." Matty says

 _"Think of this as, uh, kind of a team up Enemy of my enemy and whatnot. Oh, ta-ta for now. It's been so lovely chatting with you. And good luck collaring Henry. and Valarie..I'll be seeing you."_ Murdoc says and I looked at Mac for a brief moment then looked away.

* * *

"So Murdoc wants us to catch Fletcher?" Cage asked as we continued following him

"Man, now I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about this." Jack pointed out

"I don't care what Murdoc wants. I want us to catch this guy." Mac said

"You heard the man, Cage. Step on it." Jack told her, "It's time to get hot for teacher. Val, out the window." He told me and I looked at him as he moved his head out of the window around Mac with his gun

"What are you doing?" I asked him

"Hey, Jack! Keep your gun in your pants! I have an idea." Mac told him and he got back in

"Care to share?" Cage asked him

"Yeah, sure, but, uh, for this to work, we need to get in front of him."

"Okay, watch this." Cage says took a hard turn then drove through a parking lot getting us in front of Fletcher's car

"Yeah, that's it. Get it, girl." Jack tells her and we face the back pointing our guns

"Hey, hey, Mac, I-I think he's reloading. You might want to.." I started to tell him

"Yeah, yeah, hurry up. I know." He said and moved Cage's sun-visor down

"Mac, I'm kind of driving here." She told him moving it back up

"I know. Just need to..." He says and the topper of the car lifts up and the cover flies off hitting Fletcher's car and he crashed into another car then me, Jack and Cage quickly got out with our guns raised at him

"Hands in the air! Now!" Jack yells at him as Fletcher got out raising his hands up, "Up against the wall! Don't move. Don't move. Don't you move." Jack said and patted the guy down

"Matty? Yeah, we got him." Mac told her

 _"Excellent. Bring him in for interrogation. Hopefully, he can help us find Murdoc."_

"Yeah. We'll need secure transport." He said and walked over to me and Cage

 _"Copy that. Exfil on its way."_

"Is Matty gonna be pissed about the car?" Cage asked him

"Only if she sees it."

 _"Or if she hears you talking about it because you forgot you're still on comms."_ Matty tells him and I gave a small smile

"Hey, for the record, what you did to that convertible is way worse than anything you've ever done to my phone. Ain't that right, schoolteacher?" Jack asked him moving past us and Cage followed him

"Val." Mac said stopping me and I looked at him, "Can I just ask, why didn't you tell us?"

"You mean why didn't I tell you that I'm the daughter of an assassin who tried to kill you guys, kidnapped you and shot Cage?" I asked him and he nodded his head, "Because like I told Jack. You all would stop trusting me if you knew."

"It's not that we won't trust you it's just...it's a huge bomb to drop."

"I know, trust me, but I'm still me. I don't want this to define my life, that's why I hid it. I'm nothing like him."

"If it helps. I believe you." Cage said walking over

"Me too. We can't pick our fathers." Mac agreed and I smiled, "Any more secrets?" He asked me and I looked at Cage then him

"I'm afraid of heights, " I tell them and Cage smiled as Mac looked at me shocked then we started to walk over to Jack.

* * *

"Okay, Henry's on lock down, perimeter's clear, and there's no sign of Murdoc anywhere in the city. So, what do you think? You think he, uh, you think he skipped town on us?" Jack asked walking over to me and Mac

"Well, we did what he wanted Took down his competition so, not much reason to stick around." Mac says

"Yeah, but he also wanted you dead, so the sooner we get home, the better." Jack pointed out

"I'm all for that, and, uh I should have said this earlier, but I'm sorry." Mac told him

"For what, the whole "lie to your best friend and put yourself in danger for no good reason" thing?"

"Yeah.

"Yeah, that? Yeah, okay. Well, thanks. I appreciate that." Jack says

"This whole search for my dad is it's rough, to say the least."

"No, I know it is."

"I mean, every step I take, I keep finding myself wondering if-if he even wants to be found. Does he even want me in his life?" Mac asked and I look at him

"Look, I didn't know your dad, but I know this world's a lot cooler place with you in it. And if I got to do a little helicopter parenting here and there to keep it that way, that's what I'm-a do. You're just gonna have to deal with it. Hey, that's the way families work. Capisce?" Jack asked him

"Capisce."

"Good and same goes for you there Val," Jack told me and I looked at him, "Your father may be a wonko in the brain but if you ever need anything.."

"Thanks Jack." I tell him and he put his hand on my shoulder

"Now let's go home. I think you owe me some warm beers." Jack says to Mac

"Well, that I do. Almost forgot." Mac said and he opened the door to the armored truck for me t get in next to Cage in the back then got in the front as Jack started it and we started to drive. Just then we see a missile heading towards us, "Jack!" Mac yells and it hits us causing the truck to flip and land on its topside. I tried to move but couldn't then I hear whistling then the door next to Fletcher opened and he got out

"Henry! Oh! Such a pleasure to finally meet you." I hear Murdoc say and I tried to get free and grab my gun, "I know that you said that you always work alone, but seeing as how I just saved you from life in prison, I'd say you owe me a big favor. Let's talk a little shop, shall we? See, I'm starting my own business venture A little collective, if you will And you are my first recruit." He tells him and I see him walk to Mac's side looking at me then at him, "Thanks a million, MacGyver. I'll be seeing you. Be seeing you real soon." He started to walk away, "Oh and Valarie, you be a good girl for Daddy now." He says and I struggled to move as he walked away.

 **A/N: Bet you didn't see that coming did you?**


	5. Chapter 5

**You can run, but you can't hide**

"Hey, guys." We hear Bozer yell as he walked through the front door while we set up Halloween decorations, "Great news. I found the extra-large spiders."

"That's great, Boze. Just bring 'em in and put 'em with the others here." I told him while I stood on the latter that Mac was holding and Bozer walked into the living room just as the skeleton Riley set up with a mask on it swung down in front of Bozer making him scream and fall to the ground and we all laughed.

"Oh, man, that was even better than I hoped." Riley says

"You do know the last person who wore that mask actually tried to kill me, right?" Bozer asked her

"Well, yeah, that's that's why I used it."

"I don't know why you would want to take a traumatic event in your friend's life and use it against him. What the hell are you laughing at?" He asked Jack, "What the hell is wrong with y'all?!"

"I'm so sorry, Boze, but it was really funny." Mac told him pulling the rope lifting the skull back up and I laughed

"I expect more from you, Val." He told me and I stopped laughing but tried to hold back my smile as he walked to the kitchen

"All right, looks like just a few more tweaks, and Mr. President's ready to go." Mac says and Bozer turned back around then Mac let the skeleton fall again scaring Bozer..again and Mac laughed again

"It's all fun and games, man. I almost lost my life, but nobody cares, though, everybody thinks it's a game." Bozer says walking past us

"Oh, man, I'm getting blood all over my third-favorite Metallica T-shirt. How'd I get roped into this again?" Jack asked

"It's your "third favorite"? How many Metallica shirts do you own?" I asked him pulling on some webbing then put it on the fan as Mac walked over and held the latter again. We all got used to the news I told everyone about Murdoc so things got back to normal, but my feelings for Mac continued to grow.

"Um, about ten. Well, 11, counting the one that's framed. What's your, uh, deal with Halloween there, Val?" He asked me

"Back in D.C., I was known for my haunted houses. Kids would tremble when approaching my front door. I figured I'd keep the tradition alive in L.A. Plus it's my favorite holiday."

"Well, If you're such a pro, then what am I doing here?" Jack asked

"Well, you're here because you love Halloween and kids and complaining." Mac told him and I smiled

"If I'm complaining, it's only 'cause these decorations are lame. Seriously, don't you want it to be scary?"

"Oh, trust me, the house will be scary." I tell him climbing down a step of the latter as Mac moved over slightly

"Well, I hate to rain on your parade there, Martha Stewart, but these decorations are lame."

"Hmm. Lame?" I asked him

"You want to get it really scary in here, you got to go all-out, girl. One year, me and my cousin George He's he's crazy We go to a morgue, we get a real dead body." Jack told us and I looked at Mac then back at him, "We set him up in a chair on his front porch, okay. Right? Just like this." He started to laugh, "It scared the bejesus out of them little kids, man..they scattered like roaches. You can't top that kind of authenticity, you know?"

"Hold on, so you stole - a real dead body from the morgue?" Riley asked him

"Yeah. But his funeral wasn't till the following weekend anyway, so..."

"Jack? I would never tell that story again." Bozer told him, "Ever."

"Why?"

"It's a felony." Bozer says

"It's not It's not a felony. It's like a misdemeanor."

"Definitely a felony." Boxer told him

"I think it's a slap on the wrist."

"It's a felony." I said agreeing

"Depends on where you..." Jack started to say and we hear a loud scream making us all jump

"Ooh. Sorry, guys, my new ringtone." Mac tells us taking his phone out of his pocket, "Trying to get in the Halloween spirit that got me, too." He says and I smile, "Oh, it's Matty. We got to go."

"Now, like this?" Jack asked pointing to his shirt

"Yes, now."

"Don't tell me none of y'all ever stole a dead body before." Jack says and we head out

* * *

"What's up?" Jack asked Matty walking into the war rom

"Do I want to know?"

"Hmm? Oh, I, uh, cut myself shaving." He told her

"With what, a lawnmower?"

"We were..." He started to tell her

"Never mind. I don't care. A CIA tactical team was returning from Senegal with a prisoner when their plane went down. The aircraft and the passengers are all still missing. This is a complete list of everyone who was on board." Matty told us pulling up the pictures

"This is Commander Wheeler's team." I point out

"Byron Wheeler? As in the vice-president's son?" Jack asked

"Yes, which is why the CIA wants to keep this quiet. The VP is anxious to get his son and the tactical team home safely."

"But Matty, I thought you said that the list of passengers was complete, but the prisoner's info has been redacted." Mac says walking over to the screen pulling it up

"The CIA is insisting that the prisoner's ID is "need to know," and that we don't need to know. I'm working on convincing them otherwise, but in the meantime, the focus is to find the plane and the agents."

"What happened there, where the plane drops off the map?" Bozer asked her

"They flew into an electrical storm, lost comms and instrumentation."

"A storm strong enough to knock out a plane's signal beacon? That's terrifying." Riley said

"The last telemetric reading shows the plane dropped 5,000 feet right before losing its signal, but the data cuts out right before recording a crash. Are we sure they did?" I asked Matty

"No. I'm not sure of anything. Unlike the navy and coast guard, who seem to be sure where to focus search-and-rescue ops."

"But you said they haven't found anything, right?" Bozer asked

"That's right."

"Well, that's 'cause they're searching in the wrong place." Mac mentioned

"How could you possibly know that?" Riley asked him

"Well, the plane, it was in a nosedive when it lost its signal, but I think the pilot was doing that intentionally."

"What are you saying, he wanted to crash faster?" Bozer asked

"No, Boze, I'm saying he wanted to build up speed so he could use a controlled descent and land somewhere yeah, right about here." Mac says pointing to the screen

"Are you kidding me?" Jack asked him

"No, I-I could show you the equation if you want."

"I don't need you to show me the math. I'm talking about the map. Your little theory puts them going down right in the triangle of death. See that?" Jack asked him holding his fingers up

"Yeah. And?"

"And need I remind you and everybody else here that the Bermuda Triangle is as cursed as the day is long." Jack says and we all looked at him, "Don't look at me like that. Don't act like y'all haven't heart the weird stories about that place, neither. People who go there don't come back."

"Of course we've all heard the stories, but that's what they are stories." Bozer told him

"Come on, Jack, you can't really be scared of the Bermuda Triangle." Riley adds

"I'm telling you right now, if that plane went down in the Devil's Triangle, they're as good as gone. Man, they're in the Upside Down. We can't do nothing for 'em."

"You know what? That's enough." Matty says and Jack looked at her, "We don't have time for urban legends. Riley, I need you to task satellites to Mac's coordinates and find that plane. You're all wheels up in 20."

"Mm-mm." Jack mumbles shaking his head

"And you change your shirt." Matty told him as we all walked out but him

* * *

"I'm sorry, but a George Washington mask is just not scary." I said to Bozer on the plane

"If Murdoc was running around wearing that mask shooting at you, you'd be scared of it." He says and I stopped smiling

"Oh. I'm sorry I brought it up." I tell him and looked down

"No, Val I'm sorry. It's just..."

"It's okay, I get it." I said cutting Bozer off and sat down between Jack and Mac

"So if you're not afraid of George Washington, but what about George Foreman?" Mac asked me trying to lighten the mood and I smile at him

"George Clooney." Jack adds

"George Takei." Mac says

"Curious George, that-that little monkey." Jack said

"George of the Jungle?" Mac asked and I laughed

"No one named George."

"All right, everyone is afraid of something, but would you even tell us if we guessed?" He asked me

"Well, admitting your fears makes you an easy mark for pranks. So you can guess, but I won't talk." I said looking at him with a smirk

"Hmm." He says and looked at Jack

"Bees" Mac said

"Razors" Jack says

"Cats"

"Ninjas."

"Needles?" Mac asked and I shook my head

"No, mice." Jack says

"Mm not even close." I tell them

"Finally got the SAT images up." Riley told us, "Good news is Mac was right. We found the plane right where he predicted." She says and we hear thunder crash

"If that's the good news, there's got to be some bad news. Go ahead, lay it on me." Jack tells her standing up

"Not bad, more like fascinating. Our plane is located on Goat Island." Bozer mentioned

"Goat Island? That was the original training base for the Navy Raiders in World War II." Mac pointed out standing up and walked over to them and I followed

"Someone knows their military history. But did you know that base was never officially decommissioned? As soon as the war ended, so did all transmissions from the island."

"How do you know that?" Jack asked him

"Well.."

"I found the original incident report from 1945." Riley says cutting Bozer off, "The navy sent in a crew to investigate, but they found the island abandoned. Completely abandoned. Every member of the 13th Division had vanished."

"Vanished?" I asked her

"Vanished."

"So not only are we heading into the Bermuda Triangle, we're going to a cursed island in the Bermuda Triangle?" Jack asked

* * *

"It definitely has a certain atmosphere." Bozer says as we walk through the jungle

"Shh, shh." Jack says stopping us and we hear animal howls in the distance then we moved forward

"Everything okay?" Mac asked Riley

"No. Both GPS and sat signals are down. I can't even get a call into Phoenix."

"What?" Jack asked her

"That storm might be causing some interference." I point out

"We are on an island in the middle of nowhere." Bozer added

"No, no, this is how it all starts, man. First, the Triangle cuts off all communication with the outside world, then we just..."

"Guys, I got debris." Mac tells us cutting Jack off, "Plane must have impacted here." He says and we follow him coming up on the crashed plane, "Val and I will check the cabin. You guys sweep the perimeter." Mac told them

"Yeah, all right." Jack says then me and Mac head to the cabin door and I grab the ledge and swing myself up then Mac climbed up after

"Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this." I tell him and walked forward

"Yeah, the whole crew is just gone? Guys, you got any signs of life out there? 'Cause we got none in here." Mac says over the radio

 _"Got a lot of plane parts, but no people. Maybe they all parachuted out before impact?"_ Bozer asked

 _"Yeah, maybe, or maybe the Triangle claimed them."_ Jack says and I rolled my eyes

 _"Let's focus on what we can prove, Jack."_ Riley told him

 _"Riley, if you don't believe 70-plus years of missing planes, ships and people is proof enough, you've been watching way too much Kardashians, not nearly enough Discovery Channel_."

 _"Like there's such thing as too much Kardashians."_ Bozer said and I chuckled as Mac moved to a door in the cabin opening it and something fell out causing him to jump and I looked at him as he smiled then I see a chair with chains.

"Mac." I tell him and he walked over, "Look. Guess who got loose." I say holding the opened handcuffs

"Maybe the plane didn't have engine trouble. Maybe this prisoner got free and caused the crash."

"Who the hell were they transporting?" I asked

 _"Uh guys? I think I found something."_ I hear Bozer say

"That is definitely something." Riley says

"Hey, we got a bloody handprint over here." Jack told us, "Well, if there's blood here, there's bound to be more somewhere else keep an eye out." Jack told us and the radio went silent

"So Val," Mac says and I look at him, "Look I know none of us have really talked about it but how.."

"Is Murdoc my father?" I asked for him and he nodded his head, "Ok well, let me just start off by saying that I am the product of teenage pregnancy. My mom and...Murdoc actually grew up together, they were friends, sort of." I tell him and he looked at me shocked, "I don't really know much about what actually happened just what my grandparents told me."

"Your grandparents?"

"My mom's parents. She died when I was 5. Car accident." I tell him

"I'm so sorry."

"It's ok. Anyways, I didn't know anything about my father growing up, as far I knew my mom told me he died before I was born. I was 16 when I found a picture in a book my mom left me, Hansel and Gretal, it's my favorite." I said and he smiled, "The picture was of my mom...and Murdoc and on the back it said this is your father in mom's hand writing. When I asked my grandparents they told me that my mom got pregnant at 16 by him and when she tried to tell him after I was born she couldn't find him."

"Did you try finding him? After you found out?"

"Yes and no, for a while I wanted to know who he was but then as I got older my grandparents told me the truth. That they believe he was the one that killed her." I tell him and he looked at me confused.

"Why would they think that?"

"Because when the cops were at my grandparents house after the accident they told me that they remember 100% seeing Murdoc standing across the street...smiling. Then when I joined homeland I did a little digging, turns out the brake lines to her car were cut. I knew it was a long shot and just a theory but knowing who he is and everything my grandparents said about my mom falling for him even though he seemed a little...off to them kind of put it together." I finished and he nodded his head walking over to me, he was about to say something but stopped, "Mac, what is it?" I asked him

"I smell jet fuel." He says and moved a seat that was blocking the way to the cockpit then suddenly I see fire, "Run!" He told me and we went to the door jumping out and ran to a metal door that was on the ground as a small explosion went off inside and he pulled the door over us as another one went off but this time it was bigger. After it was over I looked up at him because he was on top of me and we looked at each other as I tried to calm my heart down, he started to move his head down but stopped when we heard Jack yell.

"Mac! Don't be dead. Please, God. Don't you dare be dead." He says and the door lifts off of us and Riley helped me up as Jack helped Mac up and he looked at me as I looked away and brushed the dirt off, "Now do you believe me, Mac? This place is cursed, man."

"It wasn't a curse. And that was no accident."

"Then what happened?" Jack asked him

"The console was booby-trapped to spark and ignite a pool of jet fuel when I moved a chair."

"Are you saying someone rigged the plane to explode?" Bozer asked and Mac snapped his fingers at him then leaned his hands on his legs

"Not just someone. The person they had in custody we found a pair of broken handcuffs onboard." I told them

"So this prisoner survives a crash, drags an entire CIA tac team off the plane, then sets a trap. Who the hell are they?" Riley asked

"We should all just go ahead and assume that well, that someone very dangerous is on the island here with us, all right?"

"Jack's right we should all be on high alert while we search for Wheeler and his team, okay?" Mac says and I nodded

"Riley and I should probably set up base camp here. The fire from that explosion makes for an excellent homing beacon. If the tac team is out there, they would've seen it, and they could head this way to check it out." Bozer pointed out

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do about our little satellite problem. I'm sure Matty's not happy we're still incommunicado. And I'd love to get an eye up there." Riley adds

"Did you guys find anything out here other than the hand print?" I asked Bozer

"Yeah. A blood trail leads to the old Navy Raider base. That way." He says indicating in the direction we needed to go

"That's where we're going." Mac says then both me and him start to walk and I glance at him, was he about to kiss me earlier? _No, come on Val snap out of it. You're the daughter of his worst enemy, he may be your friend but he doesn't see you like that._

* * *

"Okay, we need to agree on something right now. At some point, somebody's gonna say, "Let's split up," and it's gonna sound like a great idea at the time, but believe me, it's not. 'Cause right after any group in any horror movie says, "Let's split up," it's always the handsome jock who's the first one horribly butchered by whatever ghoul's lurking in the shadows." Jack says to me and Mac

"And in this scenario, you're the handsome jock?" I asked him

"That's obvious, Val. J-Just so we're in agreement, though, now, ain't gonna be no splittin' up, is that cool?"

"We're absolutely not splitting up, Jack. And, hey, as for your other concern, don't lose any sleep you're not that handsome." Mac tells him and I smiled, _But you are. Damn it woman stop it!_

"What do you mean I'm not that handsome? Are you factoring in charm, dude? Charm goes a long way, man." Jack argued

"So, it looks like the blood trail leads right to the radio tower." Mac pointed out

"You know, maybe we should, uh, heed the warning sign, what do you think?" Jack asked him and Mac looked at it

"Since when are you against trespassing?"

"Jack, if we get in trouble, just call on your roguish charm to come and protect us." I tell him. You can do that, yeah?" I asked him as Mac undid the chain and we walked in

"Ooh, "roguish." Yeah, I like that. I can do that."

* * *

We get to the top of the radio tower and Jack opened the door holding his gun up, "Looks like nothing's been touched here since the 13th Division disappeared." Mac pointed out

"It feels like they're still in here, man." Jack says and I tapped his other shoulder making him jump then he glared at me as I hid a smile

"The blood trail ends right here." I point out looking at the floor, "Maybe they were trying to send out a distress signal."

"Ooh!" I hear Jack exclaim and I turn around, "Did you see that? Huh? Please, please tell me you saw that. The spirits are sending us messages from the other side, y'all."

"Jack, the dust here, it's been disturbed. Looks like someone used this hand crank to power up the radio." Mac tells him

"Riley, Bozer, you guys got the satellite imagery back up and running?" I asked over my radio

 _"Hey, Val, heads up our connection isn't that great."_ Riley tells me

 _"Yeah, something's messing with the signal. The storm, maybe."_ Bozer adds

 _"Or maybe it's the high iron content in the rocks."_

"Yeah, or maybe we're all covered in dumb-dumb sauce for flying into the Triangle - in the first place." Jack tells them

 _"Yeah, or that. Whatever it is, I'm working on a code to fix it and get our satellite uplink fixed. Hope...soon."_ Riley says but the radio crackles out

"Riley, I can't...Riley? Riley?" Jack asked but I didn't here anything, "This exact same thing happened in The Conjuring. Spoiler alert: It did not end well." Jack says to me

"I didn't see it."

"You didn't see The Conjuring?" He asked me

"You made me watch that movie 30 times. This never happened in The Conjuring. It never happened." Mac says to him and the radio he was next to chirped, "Is that...guys, I think this radio might still be working. Maybe I can, uh.." He said and messes with the dial in the back of it

 _"All channels, this is Byron Wheeler. Is anyone receiving? Over."_ We hear over the radio and I smiled

"That's Commander Wheeler." I said

"Uh Commander, this is MacGyver. I'm with a team from the Phoenix Foundation. Vice President Wheeler's gonna be very happy to know that you're still alive." Mac told him

 _"Yeah. Dad's a stickler for that. Have you found the rest of my team?"_ He asked and we looked at each other confused

"They're not with you?" Mac asked him

 _"No, I-I don't know where they are. The last thing I remember is our prisoner getting loose and the plane going down. I got knocked out in the in the commotion and woke up in here."_

"Uh, where's "here"?" Mac asked him

 _"No clue. I woke up in a dark room with a splitting headache."_

"Is there anything that you can describe to us about where you're at?" Mac asked

"The floor is cold, like stone or-or concrete. I think some of the walls collapsed at some point."

"Okay. That's, uh, that's good. That's useful. Don't worry, we're gonna find you." Mac says setting the radio down then grabbed an antenna

"How are we supposed to do that? This place is huge all we got to go on is cold and dark." Jack says

"Yeah, I know. Just keep him talking."

"What am I supposed to say?" Jack asked him

"Well, you never had a problem running your mouth before."

"Commander Wh..Commander Wheeler, Jack Dalton here. Delta Force. You just stay strong, soldier. We're gonna get you out of there." Jack told him

 _"Thanks. I hope so."_

"Hey, while I got you on the line, if you don't mind me asking, there at, uh, there at Camp David, uh, are there multiple underground UFO bunkers, or is there just the one?" Jack asked him and I rolled my eyes

 _"I can't really comment on that."_

"What, you can't comment 'cause you don't know, or you can't comment 'cause you don't think I can handle the truth? I can handle the truth, Commander Wheeler. What about Christmas?" Jack asked

 _"Uh Ch-Christmas?"_

"You know, VP and all." Jack says

 _"I don't quite understand"_

"You guys have big Christmases, or what? How long you want me to do this?" He asked Mac

"Hey, hey, you hear that? Clear line. It means we're heading in the right direction." Mac tells us pointing the antenna forward then pointed it towards us and we hear a munch of static, "Static means we're not. Now we can locate the origin of the signal. Here, help me get this on my back."

"Big Dawg, we're on our way." Jack told him over the radio and he helped Mac

* * *

 _"What should I say?"_ Wheeler asked us

"What can you tell us about the prisoner you were transporting?" I asked him and it got staticky

 _"We weren't given a name, just a picture and a location."_ He says and it cleared up when Mac changed the position of the antenna, _"She was dangerous."_

"Your prisoner was a woman?" Jack asked him

 _"Yeah. And she dropped three of my men before the plane went down."_

"Maybe she's the one who dragged you to where you are now." Mac mentioned

 _"I don't know. But if I had to bet on anyone surviving that crash, it'd be her. I don't know how she got free, but she did, and it was ugly. I've never seen anyone take out an entire team like that before."_

"What else can you tell us about her?" I asked and we walked into the bunk room and Jack started smacking his flashlight

 _"Five nine, dark hair, ice water for blood."_

"I suppose the reason for this is the high iron content in the rocks as well, huh?" Jack asked

"You gave your good flashlight to Bozer, remember?" Mac tells him

"Oh."

"Signal's getting stronger. Should be just through here." Mac pointed out and we walked into another room and see two walkies taped together

 _"If I had to guess, I'd say she was former Special Forces. No one does what she does without years of training."_ Wheeler tells us

"Two walkies tied together? Th-That's what we've been tracking this whole time?" Jack asked and walked over to it, "Oh, man. What the hell's going on here?" He asked then fell through the floor

"Jack! Jack!"

"Jack!" I yelled then saw him on the ground

"Jack! Jack, you okay?" Mac asked him

"What do you think? I just fell, like, a thousand feet." Jack groaned and Mac laughed

"Give or take 980. But yeah." Mac says then we hear him scream after he got up, "Jack?"

"You finding anything interesting down there?" I asked him

"Nope, nope, nope, nothing. It's just an old combat tr-training room. Nothing."

"Well, do you see anything down there that could help you get back up?" Mac asked

"No, not-not a ladder. Nothing I-I trust to support my weight. Anything like that. Jeez. It's kind of kind of cold down here."

"Wait, Jack, that's it. It's, uh, stone floor is cold?" Mac asks

"Yeah, yeah."

"I bet Wheeler is stuck in the basement as well." Mac tells me

"So Jack doesn't have to find a way up here. We got to get down there."

"Exactly. Hey, is my antenna down there?" Mac asked him

"Yeah, and it's in about a thousand pieces, homie. You're gonna have to figure out another way to track Wheeler."

"All right. Yeah. Sit tight. I have a plan, but I got to go to the radio tower to get supplies." Mac tells him

"Sit tight? No, man, hey, hey, hey. I ain't sitting tight nowhere. Listen, we talked about this. We swore there was gonna be no splitting up now."

"Hey, look. We're all leaving here together, I promise. But for now, I got to go. You know what, while you're down there, why don't you poke around? See if you can find a trace of Wheeler or his team." Mac says

"Yeah. Yeah, all right, go on, but I guarantee you I'm the first one who gets it."

"Be careful." I said to Mac he put his hand on my shoulder then left.

* * *

"Finding anything?" I asked Jack shining my light down the hole

"Nothing really. Just a bunch of old dirty boxes and more of these stupid punching dummies. There-there's got to be a door around here somewhere, right?"

"Maybe on the other side of the room?" I asked

"Oh, yeah, well, that's easy for you to say."

"Jack, I'm right here. There's no such thing as ghosts." I reassured him

"Yeah.

Yeah, all right. There's no such thing as ghosts or clowns. And this island is definitely not home to any ancient, evil spirit."

"Jack?" I asked

"Yeah?"

"You're doing really good." I tell him

"Thanks a lot, Val. You're a big help. More walls and..." He started to say but stopped

"What's going on?" I asked him

"Shh!" He says and paused, "Hey! There's, uh, there's air coming out of a tear in an old map down here. I think it's covering up a passageway. An ultra creepy secret passageway."

"Okay, where does it lead?"

"Well, I don't know. A-And if I go through here, then that means we've officially split up and you know how I feel about that." He told me

"Jack, we're still looking for Wheeler. And you can't stay in the basement forever." I said to him, "I'm gonna wait here for Mac and then we're gonna find a way down to you, okay?" I asked but nothing, "Jack, the sooner we find Wheeler and the rest of his tac team, the sooner we get off the island." I said

"Yeah, okay, that sounds good. I'm going through."

* * *

I sat at the hole and my light started to flicker so I smacked it but it went off then I heard a creaking sound behind me, I turned my head to look then smacked my light turning it back on then stood up walking back towards the bunk area looking at a desk then my light flickered again so I smacked it getting it back on and looked around. I see a mirror with some old pictures on it then looked down at the corner and found a postcard, I picked it up looking at the back then set it back down and my light flickered again, I smacked it a few times and it went on then off and when I looked in the mirror I saw someone behind me so I turned around.

"Boo."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

I ran back down the hall to where I left Val and Jack running into the room holding the supplies I gathered, "Val are you.." I started to ask but I didn't see her by the hole, "Jack?" I asked but got nothing so I groaned then ran out moving down the halls, "Jack! Val!" I yelled checking a door but it was locked, "Val! Jack!" I yell again then went to another door and it opened, "Yes" I went in and moved down the stairs, "Val?" I asked opening another door then suddenly I ran into someone and I dropped a few things as I jumped then saw it was Jack, "Where's Val?" I asked him

"Last time I saw her, she was waiting on you."

"Oh, I was just in the barracks. She wasn't there." I tell him and I started to panic a little.

"I said don't split up. Did I not?" Jack asked me

"Yeah."

"I said it and now this happens. Next time, we're doing things my way. Why can't you just admit when I'm right about something?" He asked me

"You can go for a victory lap later. Look, I just talked to Riley and Bozer." I told him

"Yeah, and?"

"And the prisoner that the CIA was transporting is Harper Hayes, a real badass, apparently." I informed him picking up the things I dropped

"We'll see about that."

"Hey, look, if what they're saying is true, she's not gonna stop until we're all in the ground." I tell him

"Super.

So, a highly-trained killer is on the loose and now Val is gone. Huh. Please, tell me you have a plan." He says

"I got a plan. It's right here, I just.." I said and put my stuff down on an old wheelchair that was sitting there

"This little plan doesn't involve me putting away a 70-year-old can of corn, does it?"

"No, I just need the can, not the corn. So have at it if you want. Wouldn't recommend it." I tell him and began to work, "If Val and Wheeler are down here, we should be able to see their heat signatures on this." I point out to him and we see his figure on the screen

"Is that me? Did you just make a 1940s thermal camera?" He asked me then laughed, Your brain is all swell. That is definitely cool. Oh." He says and I started to push the wheelchair Hey, you know what would be cooler? A proton pack, and probably way more useful. You think you could whip up one of those real quick?" He asked and I looked at him, "This is great. I-I love this."

* * *

"Here, I got something." I tell him as an image popped up on the screen of another person, I really hoped it was Val and that she was ok, "Through that door. Yeah." I said and he goes over to it.

"Hang on just a sec." He tells me and raised his gun then opened the door and we walked in, "What the hell is this thing? Time machine?"

"It's a hyperbaric chamber."

"For what?" He asked

"Well, with all the dive training the Navy Raiders were doing, they probably used that to help them out with decompression sickness." I tell him and we hear banging coming from inside of it. I pulled out my flashlight shining it over and I saw Val.

"Mac!"

"Val?" I ran over to it

"Thank God. Get me out."

"Yeah. All right." I said and moved over to the handle, "The keyhole's been filled with some sort of plaster. The tumblers won't budge."

"Can we cut off the hinges?" Jack asked me

"No, it would take me hours to cut through with my knife."

"Oh, my God. The tank's filling with water." Val tells us and I looked in

"What?" I asked and moved around to the side

"How is that even possible? These things are supposed to be airtight." Jack says

"Because Hayes spot-welded a water pipe to the air intake. Jack, she's got about five minutes before this whole thing is filled with water." I tell him and started to think, I was not gonna lose her, not like this.

"This is a Special Forces tactic." Jack tells me after I go over to him

"What do you mean?"

"Wound an enemy force, the entire team has to take care of the injured soldier."

"Slow us down." I concluded

"Exactly."

"She's a distraction?" I asked him

"Unfortunately. Uh, my guess is Hayes is gonna grab Wheeler, steal our plane and disappear forever."

"VP's son is a hell of a bargaining chip to have. She could get just about anything she wants." I point out

"That's what I'm saying."

"Go find Hayes, do not let her off this island." I tell him

"What about her?" He asked me

"I'm not gonna let her die. I'm gonna get her out. Promise." He said and I went to grab a few things

"Hey, Val! I'll see you soon." Jack tells her, "Okay? Real soon."

"Jack, go get her. I'm right behind you." I tell him

"Yes, sir."

* * *

"Mac! Whatever you're gonna do, just do it fast." She tells me

"Don't get too comfy in there, you're leaving soon. All right?" I reassured her grabbing a few things and I see the water getting up to her neck.

"Clowns." I hear her say

"What?"

"I'm afraid of clowns," She says, "On my tenth birthday my grandparents brought mt to the circus. Since then I've been afraid of them. Seems kind of lame now that I'm trapped in this thing about to drown."

"I'm gonna get you out of there. I promise." I reassured her as the water gets to her mouth so I hurried, "Okay, this is a captive bolt gun. It should bust the glass."

"Do it." She gasped, "Just do it right now."

"The problem is, this could also shatter your skull. Any chance you can move back?" I asked her and she moved a little then I put it up to the glass and looked at her as the water got higher and I twisted the knob and suddenly the glass shattered letting the water out and she coughed. I grabbed my knife and began to work on the plaster that was on the lock and finally got enough of it off to where I could open the door and once I did I got her out of the cuffs holding her and she hugged me, "I got you. I got you." I tell her as she coughed, I put my hands on her face and she looked at me, "Are you okay?"

"I think I should add drowning to my list of fears." She says with a smile and I smiled too, I wanted so badly to kiss her right now but it wasn't the time.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Cute trick with the magnet." I hear Hayes say as I walked over to her being cuffed, "Did you get your friend out in time or she still floating in the tank?"

"Oh, he got me out. Which is good news for me. Bad for you. 'Cause now I owe you one."

"I look forward to you settling up." She tells me and they escorted her away as Wheeler walked over

"I want to thank you all. I'd be dead if it weren't for you."

"Nah, just glad we could help you and your team, Commander." Mac told him shaking his hand

"And-and feel free to mention how awesome old Jack Dalton was next time you see the vice prez there, sport." Jack says

"You got it." Wheeler said and walked away

"Good man." Jack walked away and Mac started to follow

"Hey, Mac?" I said and he stopped then walked back over to me, "Thank you. For getting me out."

"I'm just sorry we had to split up. It's always a sad day when Jack's right." He tells me and I smiled

"I'd really appreciate if you didn't share what I told you."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm afraid of heights." He said and I looked at him shocked

"Really?" I asked him and he nodded his head, "It does kind of make me feel better." I tell him and he chuckled, "Thank you." I said and hugged him which he returned and I didn't want to let go but then we broke apart and walked over to the others

"So, Jack, you survived the dreaded Bermuda Triangle. How you feeling?" Bozer asked him

"Ah, pretty good. Pretty good, yeah, yeah. Although, it's possible that maybe I kind of, sort of overreacted, just-just a little bit."

"Oh, just a little." Bozer says

"Yeah, but now that I've faced the dreaded Triangle and whooped its ass, I now, I'm basically immune to fear." Jack said and we hear a scream noise causing us to jump then Mac pulled out his phone.

"So much for "immune to fear." Riley said holding up hers and I smiled then looked at Mac

"Don't laugh at that." Jack says to Bozer

"Immune, my ass."

* * *

We get set up in Mac's house when the door bell rings and I stay in my spot hearing a group of kids scream then come towards me and I step out dressed in my scarecrow costume raising my arms and hiss at them as they run away.

"Okay. Bye." The parent says walking out with the kids as I walked over

"Hey, wait-wait. Hang on, boys. You forgot the best part." Jack said stopping them and grabbed the bowl of candy dumping it in

"Wow! That's a lot of candy."

"Yeah! Have fun out there." He tells them

"Thanks, mister." The kid says and walked out then I closed the door

"Oh, great job, everyone. Okay, back to ones, we've got another group coming." I said and there was a knock at the door

"Incoming! Incoming! Hide! Hide." Bozer says walking over dressed as a lion and crouched down as I got back to my spot and hear Bozer yell

"Nice try, Boze." I hear Matty tell him and we walked over

"Hey, thought you were coming over in costume." Jack told her

"I am."

"As what?" He asked

"Your worst nightmare."

"Oh, well, in that case, you look perfect. Come on in."

Bozer made moaning sounds while still crouched down, "You forgot a broom." He says and I hid back a smile

"Do you want to spend the rest of the night pulling one out your butt?"

"No, ma'am." He told her

"Where's Mac? He said you guys were out of candy." Matty says and the coffin next to the door opened up and Mac popped out

"Hey, Matty. Uh, thanks for coming so quickly. Jill's in the garage passing out the candy if you want to join her."

"Okay." Matty says and hit Jack's metal suit, "Later, Tin-head."

"Get back to positions." Mac says and got back in the coffin as we all went back to our spots


	6. Chapter 6

**You can run, but you can't hide**

"This is live footage from Nigeria." Matty tells us and we look at the screen, "18 hours ago, an oil wellhead exploded, igniting a geyser of fire over 600 feet tall."

"Blaze like that's got to be burning through 500,000 barrels a day?" Mac asked

"Oil company estimates a million."

"Why doesn't this oil company just, you know, turn it off?" Bozer asked and I looked at him

"Well, Bozer, that's because they can't." Jack says standing up and walked over to the screen, "That wellhead that exploded, that was the off switch. Now this towering column of fire is directly connected to a massive underground reservoir of oil." He informed us and we all looked at him shocked and confused

"I think I speak for everyone when I say, Jack, did you just have an out-of-body experience? How do you know all this?" Riley asked him

"Ah, my granddad used to build drilling rigs outside of Amarillo. I practically grew up on one of these. Which is why, I got to ask. Normally, highly-trained crews and specialized machinery are brought in to fight a blaze like this. Why is that not happening here?" He asked Matty

"Because this explosion wasn't an accident." She says and brought up a photo, "A rebel army called The Damisa are trying to topple the Nigerian government, and they've already seized three military installations along the Nigerian border. Then, they used stolen C4 to blow up the wellhead. And now they're using stolen RPGs to take out any plane, train or automobile coming into the country carrying firefighting equipment."

"Best way to destabilize a country is to bankrupt it. And the quickest way to bankrupt an oil-rich country is to do that. These guys are gonna do anything to keep that fire burning." Mac pointed out

"And I'm assuming we're gonna do everything we can to put it out. Right?" Jack asked Matty

"Correct. But with the region about to collapse into a civil war..."

"D.C. wants to avoid direct involvement, so it's up to us?" I asked her

"Yes. And we have to move quickly."

"This imagery is live?" Riley asked

"Yeah. Our techs estimate that smoke from the fire is gonna block satellite over watch in less than 12 hours."

"So let me get this straight. You want us to hike into a country on the brink of war, sneak past an army of trigger-happy rebels, and extinguish a blazing inferno the size of a skyscraper, using only what happens to be lying around?" Cage asked

"That about puts a bow on it." Matty tells her

"Around here we call it Tuesday." I said

"Well, we may deviate from the plan a little, but, yeah." Mac says

"Cool. When do we leave?" Cage asked.

* * *

"That airstrip we spotted on satellite's about ten more miles that way." Riley informed us as we walked through the jungle

"Oh, great. I saw two planes parked on the tarmac we could use to drop the bomb." Mac says and adjusted his pack

"Yeah, about the bomb. Mac, you maybe want to do us all a favor and stop hopping around like that?" Bozer asked him

"Yeah, come on. I'm with Bozer, man. It'd suck to get blown up before the mega-fire has a chance to cook us all there, boss." Jack says

"Oh, yeah, relax. It's just cyanuric triazide." He tells us and looked back, "Oh. Low impact agitation won't set it off, so I could literally twerk my way across Nigeria, and we'd all be fine." He said and I smiled, "So, high-impact will set it off. Exposure to 3,000-degree flames, something like that."

"Yeah, about that. Can we go back to the part where dropping a bomb on fire is gonna make it less fiery?" I asked him

"It's actually quite simple. The blast shockwave will expand so quickly that it pushes all the burning oil and oxygen away from the fuel source."

"Yeah, imagine a kid blowing out a bunch of birthday candles. One big puff, and they're out, right? Now imagine those candles are 600 feet tall, and the kid's turned into a backpack bomb dropped from a stolen airplane, and there you are. That's right out of Red Adair's playbook." Jack added and I was impressed

"You talking about the dancer?" Riley asked him

"No. No, Riley, I'm not talking about Fred Astaire. I'm talking about Red Adair. Did you guys ever see a movie called Hellfighters with John Wayne?"

"No." Bozer and Riley answered

"I have." I tell him then him and Mac looked at me, "I would always sit with my grandfather on the couch during rainy days and we'd watch a bunch of John Wayne movies." I said and Mac smiled at me

"See I knew there was a reason I liked you," Jack says and I laughed, "And come on, Bozer, I thought you said you like movies."

"Yeah. Good ones."

"Okay, I'll-I'll choose not to be insulted by that, Boze. Val care to explain?" He asked me

"Red Adair was a native Texan who made a name for himself fighting some of the world's most dangerous wellhead fires. And in 1961, he battled a blaze called "The Devil's Cigarette Lighter." It burned at 3,000 degrees, caused gale force winds. It could shoot out a stream of gas powerful enough to cut a man right in half." I tell them and Jack patted me on the back

"These are super-helpful facts, you two, not at all terrifying." Riley says and I smiled at her

"Well, my old man's old man met Red once, and he said it was like meeting the president. To my grandpa, there was no greater hero than Red Adair." Jack says putting his arm around Riley

* * *

"Wow." Mac says as we stopped and looked at the fire

"Your grandfather would have been proud of you, Jack." Bozer tells him

"What? Is that supposed to be a joke, Bozer?"

"Nah, it's a compliment. Kind of like a look-at-you-now thing." Bozer says

"Oh, well, I can't tell when you're joking or not. You've never given me a compliment before, so I don't know how to take it."

"You know what? I take it back." Bozer said

"Shh. Shh." Mac tells us

"What is it, Mac?" I asked him

"Remember those rebels Matty warned us about?"

"You mean, the ones with the leopard claw tattoos and the AK-47s? No, doesn't ring a bell." Riley said sarcastically then suddenly we see people come out from behind the trees cocking their guns at us so me, Jack and Cage raised our guns up

"Jack, don't. We don't have a chance." Mac tells him and we lowered our weapons then got down on the ground raising our hands as the one person shouted at us

"When you said those explosives need high impact to detonate?" Jack asked Mac

"A bullet would do the trick."

"Yeah. Yeah, that's what I thought." Jack says

* * *

"Bozer, watch where you're going." Riley tells him as we walked in a line with our hands tied together by a rope connecting us

"Me? If you kept up, I wouldn't be getting yanked back."

"Guys, now's not the time." Cage tells them

"Seriously? If we're gonna escape, we need to stop bickering and stay calm, and wait for Mac to come up with a plan. What you got, bro?" Jack asked him

"Working on it."

"Well, you mind working a little faster? It's not gonna be long before these guys get sick of dragging us around, start feeding us nine-millimeter sleeping pills." Jack says

"If they were gonna shoot us, they would've done so already, not dragged us through the woods. They're taking us to their camp, I think."

"Well, that sounds awful." Jack said

* * *

"What is this place?" Riley asked as we walked in a village

"An abandoned town. The residents must have cleared out when the wellhead blew." I answered

"So what are the rebels doing here, raiding it for supplies?"

"Maybe. Or alternate theory: they brought us here to lock us in a house and watch us burn alive." Bozer said

"Stop!" The leader tells us and we stopped

"Well, looks like we're about to find out."

"On your knees! Kneel!" He ordered and we all got down except Jack.

"Jack." Mac warned and he got down then our captures took off their covers and we saw just ordinary people standing in front of us

"I didn't know The Damisa let women and kids into their club." Bozer pointed out

"If these are The Damisa, why don't any of them have that leopard tattoo?" I asked

"Because they're not rebels. They're villagers. This town is their home." Mac mentioned

"You mean it was their home." Jack said

"Who are you? Why are you trespassing on our land?" THe leader asked us

"My name's MacGyver. My friends and I were sent by the U.S. government to help put out that wellhead fire." Mac tells and the villagers started to talk

"The Damisa said they came to help. To make our lives better. And now things are worse. Much worse." The guy says

"Look around you. It's not safe here. The air is becoming toxic. You need to evacuate this area before we..." Mac tries to tell him

"No, we will not leave. If we run, we will lose everything." The guy said cutting Mac off

"No, if you stay, you'll lose everything, including your lives." Jack says and the guy kneels down in front of him

"Better to die protecting that which our families have built over generations than to run like cowards."

"I understand how important it is to have a connection to your past and what it's like to lose it. So, if you won't leave, that's okay, but please let us do what we were sent here to do: help you save your home." Mac says to him

"What proof do you have that you are telling the truth? Hmm? That you are not working for Damisa?"

"None. But if you untie me, I could show you a much better way to put out those fires." Mac tells him and we see children run over

"It's not just their history they're protecting. It's their future." I said and the ropes on our hands get taken off and we stand up as Jack's satellite phone rings.

"Well, then I guess this is the first time the CIA's ever been wrong." I hear him say as I stand next to the truck Mac was in, "Mac and Cage and I are about to giddy up to the landing strip while Riley, Val and Bozer launch their drone thing from town." He told her and I looked over at him

"Sure you want to sit this one out?" Mac asked me and I looked at him

"Yeah I'm sure. Everyone here needs all the help they can get." I tell him and looked over at Riley putting a gas mask on a little girl while her mother stood there and I looked down

"I never asked you but I know it's kind of obvious." Mac says and I looked at him, "You miss your mom huh?" He asked and I nodded my head

"It's her birthday today." I said and he stood up

"I'm so sorry." He says and I shrugged then he pulled me into a hug, "She would be very proud of you." He tells me and I smiled then fought back tears and looked at him

"Thank you Mac. You're mom would be too." I said and he smiled

"If Riley, Val and Bozer leave, dozens could die." I heard Jack say and I broke away from Mac then walked over to Jack, "Yeah, yeah, okay, fine. I got it." Jack says and hung up the phone, "Riley, Val, Bozer, you can't stay here. It's Matty's orders."

"We came here to help people, didn't we? Well, these people need help." Bozer told him

"It's not my decision, man."

"Riley, how's the view from the Phoenix satellites?" Mac asked her

"By now? Completely obscured."

"That would mean that Matty couldn't monitor our movements on the ground." Jack pointed out and I looked at them with a smirk

"Hold up. Are you guys seriously considering disobeying orders?" Cage asked

"Ah, it's more like tweaking orders." I tell her

"Bozer's right. We're here to help. These people need all the hands that they can get." Mac adds

"Besides, what Matty doesn't know won't hurt her." Riley mentioned

"Matty brought me in. She gave me a second chance." Cage says and looked at all of us, "Screw it. I'm in."

* * *

"Now, this is a sonic fire extinguisher. Press play and the speaker emits a 50 hertz frequency, creating pressure waves that could snuff out a fire." Mac explained to us setting the bucket down

"Any chance Bozer could hurt himself with it?" Riley asked and I laughed

"Very funny." Bozer says to her sarcastically

"Hey, need you three to make me a promise. Things get any worse around here, you bounce, like, immediately. Promise?" Jack asked us walking over and Mac looked at me

"Got you." Bozer says to him

"Promise." Riley added and I sighed

"Yeah, I promise."

"All right." Jack said and walked away then Mac put his hand on my shoulder and followed

* * *

I knelt in front of a small fire and held up the bucket thing Mac made, I hit play and it did a low hum then the fire went out so I got up and headed back over to Riley and Bozer, "All right, heads up, Mac." Riley tells him on the radio

 _"Yeah."_

"We're about to launch our eye in the sky." She says as I get back over to her and Bozer,

"Okay, 200 feet. 300 feet. 400 feet. Okay, she's just below the smoke ceiling. Switching to auto-hover." Bozer tells us and I look at the screen

"Calibrating the image." Riley said, "Okay, guys. Good news is the drone is operational. Bad news is there's been a few developments since our satellites could last see the area." She told them

 _"Let me guess the landing strip we're supposed to get our plane from is now overrun with rebels?"_ Mac asked her

"Yeah. Real ones this time."

 _"They're sabotaging anything that can fly. Strategic move to stop locals from fighting the fire."_ Cage added

"So, what's the plan now? We still need a plane." I point out

 _"All right. Looks like we're gonna have to do this the Jack Dalton way. I got the six on the left, if y'all can handle the two on the right."_ I hear Jack say, _"Okay, on three. One, two..."_ He started to count then I see the planes blow up on the screen, _"That's a problem even the Jack Dalton way can't fix right there. Now what?"_

 _"Well, without a plane to drop the explosives, the only way to approach the fire is on the ground."_ Mac said

 _"I thought you said that wasn't an option."_ Cage tells him

 _"It isn't, because even if we could survive getting close enough to the flames to drop the explosives in, which we can't, the cyanuric triazide would've already exploded."_

"Mac, we told the townspeople we'd help. There has to be another way." Bozer told him

 _"You got something?"_ I hear Jack ask to I'm assuming Mac

 _"You know what, I think I do. Cage I need your shoelaces."_

* * *

"Anything from Mac?" Bozer asked me and Riley walking over after putting out another small fire

"Yeah, they lost the rebels and are about an hour away from the wellhead." I told him

"Hope we can last another hour. These fires are almost starting faster than I can put them out."

"I can use the drone's thermal cameras to spot new ones and alert us as they pop up." Riley says and another fire popped up so Bozer went to it as I saw the village leader take some water from a well and splash it on a tree so I walked over to him.

"We should dig a fire break." I tell him and he looked at me confused, A deep ditch around the tree that the flames won't be able to cross." I explained

"Yeah, thank you."

"No problem. Hang around MacGyver, you learn a thing or two about fire safety." I said with a smile, "So avocados, huh?" I asked him

"Piha oyinbo," He told me and I looked at him confused, "Alligator pear." He says and grabbed one, "You see, we call it that because of the rough green skin. And when you cut it open." He cut it and held each piece up to his eyes and growled as I chuckled

"It looks like an alligator's eye."

"You know, my grandfather planted this tree, long before anybody knew there was oil underground. Four generations of my family have eaten from it. I used to cut the fruit in half when, uh, when it was ripe, and then chase my daughter around all over here." HE tells me putting them on his eyes again and laughed

"Your daughter?" I asked him

"Yeah. She's, uh, 12 years old."

"Where is she?" I asked

"She was taken a couple of years ago, along with many others. The children, they are made to do horrible things. Fight their wars But my Nina is strong. I know she will survive."

"Is that why you stay here?" I asked him feeling my heart ache for him

"I know she will come back to me one day."

"Solomon, my friends are gonna do everything they can to put out the fire, but if they can't, we need to talk about an evacuation plan." I mentioned to him

"You see, you say "we" but when you evacuate, where will you go?" He asked me

"Los Angeles."

"Because that is your home, right? You will board a plane and you will fly far away, and in a couple of weeks, you will forget about all of this." He tells me

"That's not true."

"No. No, it's okay. These are not your problems, not really." He says, "It wasn't your grandfather that planted this tree. When you evacuate, you will go home. But where will my Nina go if I'm not here when she returns?" He asked and I looked around seeing the children that were there

"I guess parents will always find their children. Not matter what."

"What about you? Where are your parents?" He asked me

"My mom passed away and my dad...well he's not exactly father material." I tell him and it wasn't a complete lie

"Well even if he isn't I'm sure deep down he loves you and regrets missing out on your life"

I laughed to myself and looked at him, "If only you knew."

* * *

 _"Val, Riley, Bozer. Get everyone inside. The wellhead's about to explode."_ I faintly hear Mac say in the ear piece as the ground started to shake but it was difficult, _"Val, Riley, Bozer. The wellhead's about to..."_

"What, Mac? We can't hear you." I tell him

 _"Can you hear me?"_ He asked but it was staticky

"Mac. Mac, say it again." Riley told him

"The wellhead is about to explode. Get everyone inside now." He says and I looked around as an explosion went off and Riley stepped forward. I see debris fall from the sky and a little girl standing there crying so I ran over grabbing her and covered her head as a pipe hit the ground where we just were.

"Are you okay?" I asked her and she nodded then a lady shouted at me to bring her to a house and I carried her over handing her to the lady then heard Bozer scream and I saw him roll around snuffing out the fire that was on him. I ran over to them as Bozer's phone rang.

"It's Matty. We're not supposed to be here. What do I do?" Bozer asked

"She can't see us. Be cool." Riley told him and he answered his phone

"Matty. Wuzzup?" He asked her and I shook my head

"I have Mac, Jack and Cage patched in as well. The oil company said that the pressure underground is building faster than they expected."

"Meaning what exactly?" I asked

 _"Meaning what just happened is only the warm-up for the main event."_ Jack explain

 _"Riley, Bozer, Val, where are you?"_ Matty asked us

"Well, Matty, actually, that's a funny story. We are..."

 _"Drop whatever it is you're doing and get out of that town immediately. Do you hear me? The oil company said the entire pipeline's gonna blow in a half an hour."_ She ordered us cutting Riley off

 _"Matty, we're ten minutes away from the wellhead, and we have a plan..."_ Mac started to tell her but Jack cut him off

 _"Uh, guys, we have a problem."_

 _"What is it?"_ Matty asked

 _"Rebels. Lots of them headed our way."_ Cage says

 _"Not for long. Hang on!"_ Jack says and there was a pause

 _"Uh, guys, I have a feeling we're gonna be late."_ Mac tells us

"How late?" Bozer asked him

 _"Bozer, it'll be a miracle if we ever get there!"_ Jack said

* * *

 _"Mac, have you lost them yet?"_ Matty asked him

 _"Yeah, that'd be a big "no," Matty."_

 _"Okay, I've heard enough. Riley, Val, Bozer, gather the people and evac the town now. Mac, ditch your new friends and rendezvous with Riley and Bozer at exfil."_ Matty ordered us

"But, Matty, we can't just abandon every..." Riley began to tell her

 _"You can when it's a direct order, Riley. I'm pulling the plug."_

"All due respect, Matty, I'm watching a man risk his life to save a tree. I'm not running till he does." I said to her

 _"Val's right, Matty. If we don't put out that fire, the whole country's gonna be reduced to ash."_

* * *

"Man, are we glad to see you guys." I tell Mac, Cage and Jack after they get back to the village

"We saw the whole thing on the drone's camera. Was it amazing? I bet it was amazing. Can I do it?" Bozer asked Jack and I smiled

"Well, if this next step works, Bozer, I'll drive you myself. Now what?" Jack asked Mac

"All right, first we have to outfit the pickup to withstand the heat. So..." Mac says and I saw him start to think, "Oh, you know what? Bozer, Val, get the locals to help you detach as many of these corrugated tin roofs as possible." He tells us and we split up

* * *

"All right, so, the tin will reflect the heat, but there can't be any gaps for it to penetrate, or..." Mac says walking over to Me, Jack and Cage

"Or it'll cook us alive from a hundred feet out. We know, we know." Cage tells him and he walked to the back of the truck and I stood on the other side of it

"Can you be honest with me? Is this gonna work?" I asked him walking over and standing next to him

"Jet engines are actually pretty simple machines. They add fuel to a flowing stream of air and massively increase the force of that air by heating it up. So, in theory, anything combustible should do the same thing. Like crude oil refined into homemade gasoline." He says and I look at him, "What?" He asked me

"You do this thing with your face when you're saving the worst part for last."

"The only thing is crude oil contains a bunch of gunk that's eventually gonna clog the engine." He told me

"And how soon is "eventually"?" I asked him and he stayed quiet, "You don't know." I tell him and heard crying behind me so we looked and saw a little boy crying when a lady ran over to him, "This has to work Mac." I said still looking at the villagers and I feel him grab my hand.

"When has anything we ever done not worked?"

I give a small chuckle and look at him, "Good point. Just be careful."

"Always am." He says and looked at his watch then took it off, "Hey, would you, uh hold on to this for me?" He asked me and I took the watch from him, "It's gonna get hot out there, and even if it is just an old, poorly repaired watch it's all I got left of him, you know?"

"I know what you mean." I tell him and showed him the ring I had on my right middle finger, "This was another thing my mom left me." I said and he smiled at me, "I'll be giving this back to you after you cap that well."

* * *

We stood in the village and watched as the fire went out then everyone cheered then I hugged Riley then Bozer.

* * *

 _"Once you put out the fire, the Nigerians were able to cap the well. Their military has The Damisa on the run, and several of the camps near you have already been liberated."_ Matty tells us as we get packed up in out transport

"Well, that's great news." Mac told her

 _"Yeah. Now for the not such great news."_

"Come on, now. Matty, we just reenacted a John Wayne classic. I'm on an emotional high here. Why does there always have to be a not great part?" Jack asked her

"Riley? Val? Bozer?" She asked and I moved towards Mac

"I knew this was coming." I mumbled under my breath

 _"You three disobeyed orders and stayed in the town. By doing so, you helped to save it. Your actions were brave, even noble, but they could've gotten you killed, which would have put the success of our entire mission at risk. Oversight is reviewing the situation to determine disciplinary action."_

"Does this mean we're gonna get a face-to-face?" Bozer asked her

 _"No. Oversight doesn't interact with agents. They deal with me, and then I deal with you."_

"Look, Matty, I just want you to know that we really..." Riley began to say

 _"Save it. It's out of my hands."_ Matty said and Mac ended the video call

"Well, if there's a silver lining to all this, it's probably the fact that I'm not the one who's in trouble this time." Jack says and I roll my eyes

"Thanks, Jack." Riley says to him

"Yeah, you're welcome."

"You guys will be fine. Every operative worth their salt disobeys an order from time to time. And if I hadn't done exactly that, I wouldn't be here." Cage said bringing up a good point

"Look, the only thing that really matters, look around you. This is all that really matters, isn't it?" Mac asked and we hear a horn honk and see a transport truck pull into the village full of children and I stepped forward

"Think it was worth it?" Riley asked walking up to me and I look at Solomon as he stared at the truck

"Nina?" He asked and I see a little girl look at him, "Nina!" He wrapped her up in his arms and tears formed in my eyes

"Oh, yeah. Absolutely worth it." I said and smiled at Solomon as he looked at me then I went to the truck.

"Let's bounce." Jack tells us and I hope into the back of the truck with Cage, Riley and Bozer as Mac and Jack got in the front.


	7. Chapter 7

**You can run, but you can't hide**

"I'm thinking ultramodern furniture in the minimalist style with a touch of Indiana Jones, like overstuffed leather pillows." Bozer says as we walk up the steps to Jack's apartment.

"Oh, come on, Bozer. You're giving Jack way too much interior design credit. I do agree with you about the leather. But, like, a ton of leather. Like, if a Whitesnake concert threw up on a condo." Riley tells him and I chuckled

"Come on, Ri. Seriously. Whitesnake? That's what you think of me?" Jack asked her

"I mean, that is what everyone thinks of you." Mac says and Jack stopped and looked at him, "You wear a leather cuff, like, all the time. Even to formal occasions."

"It has significant...you know what? If you guys don't stop Jack bashing, I'm just gonna uninvite you all right now."

"Oh, come on, Jack. Don't be like that. Bozer, Riley and I have never been to your place. We can't help but wonder what chez Dalton is like." I said to him

"Exactly. We're just excited you finally asked us over, even if it is for a midweek Bruce Willis marathon." Bozer adds and Jack chuckled

"Let's go." He says and I smiled at Mac then we finished walking up the stairs, "Okay, now, I don't have a big patio with a view of the L.A. skyline, but I think you'll find the Dalton digs are a little slice of heaven." He told us and we walked through the door and he slowed down as we saw his front door was opened and we heard voices coming from inside

"Jack, why is your door open?" Mac asked and we walked in seeing a few police standing there

"Looks like you've been robbed." Riley pointed out

"Oh, man. They took my TV?! I just figured out how to work the remote." Jack says

"Well, if it makes you feel any better they left the remote." Bozer tells him holding it up and I lightly smacked his arm

"Jack, I tried calling you, but it kept going straight to voice mail." A lady told him walking over

"Yeah, that's because somebody took apart my phone to make a tracking d..." Jack started to say but stopped, "Yeah. What happened, Janese?" He asked her

"I-I came in this morning to drop off your mail, and I found this. I-I thought I was doing a good job checking on the place twice a day. I feel like a terrible neighbor. I'm so sorry, Jack."

"No, it's...I'm sorry. It's not your fault, okay?"

"Nobody saw anything out of the ordinary?" Mac asked her

"Uh, Tommy thought he heard noises late last night."

"Carrying a flat-screen down a fire escape that can't be easy." I point out

"Other than the TV and coffee table, what else is missing, Jack?" Bozer asked him

"Well, they took my Telly Savalas painting, which had cultural significance. Took all my books. My CDs. I had so many CDs."

"Can we go back to the Telly Savalas..." I started to ask but Mac shook his head at me

"And my cigar box." Jack said and went over to a cabinet, "No, they took my cigar box." He tells us and I saw heart break on his face

"Mr. Dalton?" An officer asked and Jack looked at him, "Got a list of items I'd like to talk to you about."

"My stolen stuff? Yeah."

"Actually, no. We're gonna get to those items in a minute. There's some other stuff that's still in the apartment that kind of caught our attention. Come here for a sec?" The officer asked and Jack walked over to him, "You own a samurai sword?"

"It's called a katana. And y-yes. I got it on a trip to Japan. A business trip."

"And a two-handed broadsword." The officer says

"It's, uh it's another business trip to Scotland. Big Braveheart fan."

"And there's also a World War II-era Russian sniper rifle we found in your closet." The officer tells him and Jack smiled trying to brush it off, "Those clay-more mines stashed under your bed?" The officer asked

"They're replicas. They're not even real. You know, I'm the victim here. Instead of listing all the stuff I still have, why don't we focus on what I don't..."

"Jack. Jack." Riley cut him off walking over, "It sucks. I know. But l-let's look at the big picture here. All right? It's just stuff." She tells him

"Yeah. I know, Riley. It's just stuff. It doesn't matter except for one thing."

"The cigar box." Bozer says

"Yeah."

"What was in the box?" I asked Jack

"I'd rather not say."

Mac's phone chimed, "Matty needs us." He told us, "I'll just tell her you got some things going on. Yeah?" He asked Jack

"No. No, man, it's fine. All my stuff's long gone by now, man. What does it matter? Let's just go save the world again."

"I'm so sorry, buddy." Mac tells him patting his shoulder

* * *

"Three months ago, a corruption scandal forced the president of Ecuador to resign. The very next day, Colonel Diego Zarate marched 4,000 troops into the capital and declared martial law." Matty informs us

"Yeah, this is all over the news. I tell you what. You point me in the right direction of this Zarate, and I'll put my boot right in his butt." Jack said and I looked at him

"You seem grumpier than usual, Jack. Something you'd like to share?"

"No, I'm-I'm all good here."

"Okay. Seems unlikely, but whatever. Now, as much as this will disappoint Jack, I'm not sending you to Ecuador to plant your boots anywhere. I'm sending you there to save democracy."

"Ecuador is about to hold a special election to pick their next president." Cage says

"Let me guess. This Zarate's positioning himself to be that guy." I point out

"If democracy falls in Ecuador, the entire region's in danger." Mac added

"Unfortunately, that's correct. And our only hope in stopping Zarate and saving the country is this man. Hector Leon," Matty told us bringing up a picture, "former Ecuadorian soldier turned opposition leader. Leon served as a UN peacekeeper. Iraq, Bosnia, Somalia You name a hot spot, he's been there. When Zarate seized power, Leon was the first to speak out against him. Now he's the only candidate brave enough to stay in the race. Leon's got the people, and he's projected to win by a landslide, but only if he's still alive on election day."

"Zarate's trying to kill him." Riley said

"Well, that's one way to save money on attack ads." Bozer mentioned

"So far, Leon's done a good job of hiding from Zarate's death squads. But sadly, now he has a new problem: he's actually dying." Matty told us

"Hmm. He does look pale. Sounds short of breath. Is it heart disease?" Mac asked her

"Try heart failure. If he doesn't get a heart transplant in the next 48 hours, he'll die."

"So, what do you want us to do? Find him a new heart?" Jack asked her

"There's a part of me that would just love to see what you would do with the marching orders, "Find me a heart." But, fortunately, Jack, I've already found one. The problem is it's not in the right place. I found a donor heart and a surgeon in Pasto, Colombia, and I secured an operating room in Quito, Ecuador. Mac, Jack, you'll head to Colombia and escort the doctor and the heart across the border. Val, Riley and Cage will slip into Ecuador, reach Leon, and get him to the secured hospital, where you will link up with Mac and Jack." She tells us, "We do our jobs correctly, Leon and his new heart will become one before Zarate even finds out he's sick."

"Uh everyone's got a job but me. You forgot to say what I'm doing." Bozer told her

"You're staying home. I've got a tac team heading to Germany on another mission, and they need disguises."

"On the bright side, Boze, you won't have to witness Jack commit verbal atrocities to the Spanish language." Riley told him and I chuckled

"Hey, I'll have you know my command of the Spanish language is fantastico." Jack tells her as him and Mac walked headed to the door, "My accent, perfecto. And don't make me enojado. You wouldn't like me when I'm enojado."

"You're making me enojado right now, now get out of here. Leon's corazon won't be transplanting itself." Matty tells him

"Adios, muchacha."

* * *

I rode in the car with Cage and Riley when my sat phone rang, "Hey, Matty."

 _"Mac and Jack have the heart and the surgeon. They're en route and six hours away. How are you, Riley and Cage doing?"_

"We're just pulling up to Leon's place now." Cage tells her and we see an ambulance out front

"That's Leon." I point out as we see a gurney get wheeled up to it, "What's happening?" I asked

 _"Ten minutes ago, Leon collapsed in his safe house, and one of his aides called 911. EMS arrived five minutes later and they must have recognized Leon, because when they called dispatch, they referred to him by his name."_

"So his illness is no longer a secret. Does Zarate know?" Cage asked her

 _"Not only does Zarate know, but according to our intel, he has troops mobilizing. If you two don't stop that ambulance before it reaches the hospital..."_

"It won't be Leon's heart that kills him." I finished for her

* * *

"I'm trying to hack the ambulance's Bluetooth, so I can take it over remotely, but..." Riley told us as Cage followed the ambulance

"But the vehicle's too old." I point out

"Exactly, so I'm hacking the stoplights instead."

"Ambulances don't stop for lights." Cage tells her

"But they do stop for traffic jams." She says and suddenly all the cars stopped including the ambulance but then suddenly the ambulance turns driving over a curb heading down a different street

"This isn't a computer problem, this is a people problem. We've got to get ahead of them." Cage says and pulled around the car in front of us then drove over the curb heading down a different road.

"Take a left." Riley told her and she turned, we saw the ambulance and she speeds up

"So this is your solution? A game of chicken?" I asked her

"It's not a game. They're medics. Dedicated towards saving lives. They're not gonna let anyone get hurt." She says and we slammed on the breaks the same time the ambulance did then we got out and she went to the driver while me and Riley went to the back

"Out! Fuera, por favor." She tells the driver then joined us in the back after we opened the door seeing an EMT there next to Leon

"Out. Now." I said to him and he gets out then I climbed in

"Senor Leon. Mi nombre es Riley Davis. Esto es Valarie Clarke." Riley introduced and he looked at me then back at her and she continued to talk to him in Spanish and I got out walking over to Cage

"We have Leon. We're five miles from the surgery center..."

 _"No, no, no. Change of plans. That place is crawling with Zarate soldiers,"_ Matty says cutting her off, _"I found a new operating room, but it's 11 miles away. New facility, very private. None of Zarate's radio communications have ever mentioned it, so it looks like he doesn't even know that it exists. I'm gonna send you GPS coordinates now. Oh, and you're gonna have to keep a low profile for longer than expected. Mac and Jack ran into a little trouble at the border."_ She tells us and I looked at Cage.

"Why am I not surprised." I point out and Cage smiled.

* * *

"Me and Cage will take care of Nurse Ratched here, you get us a room." I tell Riley as we looked through the window of the door in the hospital seeing a nurse standing there

"I'm on it." Riley says and opened the door for us then walked past the nurse as Cage pushed the gurney up to her

"Disculpe. Tengo un paciente VIP aquí y no necesito miradas indiscretas." I said to the nurse telling her I had a VIP guest and didn't need prying eyes.

"¿Quién eres tú? Déjame ver tu identificación." She said demanding our ID's

"¿Mi identificación?"

"¡Yo soy el que está a cargo por aquí! ¿Cuál es el nombre de su paciente?" She asked for his name and Riley walked over handing me a clip board

"Ronaldo Rodriguez." I tell her handing her the chart

* * *

"I can't believe that worked. Nice Spanish Val." Riley told me as we wheel Leon into the operating room

"Thanks. Helps to take 4 years of Spanish in high school and spend 2 years in Mexico."

"Ms. Davis where are we?" Leon asked her

"A plastic surgery center. One Zarate doesn't know about. This is where you're gonna get your new heart."

"Would you hand me those?" He asked her and she walked to the other side of the bed

"You really should be resting."

"Please." He begged as she handed him the clip board while Cage grabbed the oxygen tank from the gurney and I set up and IV

"What are you writing?" Riley asked him

"The speech I was planning on delivering on election day. Just some words to encourage the people to ignore Zarate's threats, be brave, and to vote to save our nation. If I'm not here to deliver this speech, promise me you'll get it published for all to see so that someone else might continue the fight." He says to us and I nodded then Riley's phone rang.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Cage asked me as I got gloves on

"I volunteered at the local hospital during high school as a nurse. I could do this in my sleep." I tell her and continued what I was doing

* * *

"Hey, Matty, we got Leon settled at the hospital. How long before Mac and Jack arrive with that heart?" Riley asked her

 _"It's gonna be a minute. Right now, there's a bit of a problem."_

* * *

"Whoa. Jack, you look really pale." Riley tells him and I see Mac and the surgeon walk Jack into the room

"Yeah, I know. It's not my, uh, best look."

"Jack." Cage says and walked over to him while I stood by Leon when the surgeon walked over checking him

"Okay. We got Leon. We have the heart. All set, Doctor." Mac says and the power goes out then the emergency lighting came on

"Oh for crying out loud." I mumbled

"Uh-oh. Looks like somebody forgot to pay their electric bill. This is a great time for a good heart pun. Just let me think of it. I got it." Jack says and I shook my head

"Seriously, you got to stop." Mac told him and Cage's phone rang

"Okay."

 _"Cage. I'm watching the electricity go out all over Quito. You guys still have power?"_ Matty asked her

"We're in the dark. So is the whole block. If the power's gone out all over, that's got to be Zarate. He's the only one with access to the grid."

"Zarate can't find Leon so he's cutting the whole city's power hoping to stop the surgery." Riley added

"Hey, Zarate cut the power so he could.." Jack says and I looked at him, "So he could stay in power."

 _"Someone help Dalton into a chair before he hurts himself."_ Matty says and I walked over to Jack

"Come on big guy." I tell him and pulled a wheel chair over sitting him down

 _"Look, the colonel is clearly willing to do anything to kill Leon. He's shutting down the city's power grid, and he's sending men to all the hospitals and clinics to find him."_

"No problem. We got Mac. Mac can fix anything. You can fix this, right? Huh? All you got to do is.." Jack began to say

"All I got to do is quickly whip up a way to perform a lifesaving heart transplant."

"Yeah." Jack agreed

"In the dark. But, uh, you're right. No problem. No problem at all." Mac says

* * *

"Guys, Leon's fading fast. I need to operate now, but I can't perform surgery without power." The doctor tells us

"Just scrub in and start your prep. I'll have power back by the time you're ready." Mac told her

"You will? How?"

"Uh, not sure yet, but by the time you're ready, I'll have it figured out." He says and I see the nurse from earlier walk in with two others

"What the hell is going on in here?" She asked then looked at Leon, "Is that Hector Leon?"

"The smallest acts of courage, when done together, can move mountains. Stand with me now, and let's build Ecuador a new future together." Hector Leon wrote this speech for the people. If he doesn't get into surgery now, he won't be alive to deliver it. You can call the cops.." Riley says to the nurse

"Or you can help us save him." I tell her

"What do you need us to do?" The nurse asked

"Scrub up. I'm gonna build us a generator." Mac told her

* * *

"Well, the surgery was a success." Mac tells us while we looked into Leon's room

"Yeah, but we're too late. It's election day, and Zarate's about to declare victory on television, because nobody even knows Leon's still alive." Cage pointed out and I looked at Leon

"I think I can fix that." I said and they all looked at me, "But I'll need your help." I tell Riley and we walked away.

* * *

We stood in the room watching Leon give his speech in the suit coat I managed to find after I had Riley hack into the coverage feed and I smiled at her then Cage.

* * *

"Hey." I said to Mac walking onto his deck that night as he stood there looking off at the city

"Hey." He responded then looked forward

"Penny for your thoughts? Or in your case a paperclip." I tell him handing him one and he chuckled, "Found it on the floor."

"Nice." He tells me with a smile and started to play with it, "I was just thinking."

"Are you ever not thinking?" I asked him and he looked at me.

"Touche." He said and I smiled, "No I was just thinking about my dad, and this." He indicated to the watch, "I feel like I hit a dead end in finding him."

"You haven't found any more clues?"

He shook his head, "No, and I'm starting to think maybe...maybe I'm not meant to find him."

"Mac.."

"No Val it's just.." He sighed and faced me, "How can he leave me these clues then the trail gets cold? Does he want me to find him? Or did something happen and he wasn't able to leave any more?" He asked and I looked down

"Look Mac, I get it. I mean, my dad may be a psychotic killer with no heart but...we have no leads on him and to be honest that scares me," I tell him and he looked at me with concern, "But your dad is different, I'm sure there's a clue somewhere you just...got to keep trying, have faith and who knows you might just find him, or get the answers you need." I tell him and he gave me a small smile.

"Thanks Val."

"Anytime." I said and turned back to face the city and so did he

"We'll find Murdoc." He says and I feel him put his hand on mine, "I promise." I looked at him and smiled then before I knew it we both started to lean in towards each other, we were just a few inches apart and my heart was pounding like crazy when we hear Bozer yell for Mac then we moved away from each other and I looked down at the ground hearing Bozer come out onto the deck.

"Oh, hey Val."

"Hey Boze." I replied then glanced at Mac before looking away, "I'll um see you later." I tell them and left then got into my car trying to calm my heart down leaning my head against the seat.

"Holy shit."

 **A/N: Court~ Thank you again for the nice review it means so much to me and I'm really glad you are enjoying this story :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**You can run, but you can't hide**

"Have you two talked about it?" Riley asked me as we walked into Phoenix

"No." I tell her and she groaned, "What?" I asked with a laugh

"When are you gonna stop dancing around this and just tell him?"

"It's not that simple Riley." I said

"Why is that?"

"Because of who my father is. Did you forget that Murdoc is my dad?" I asked her

"No but what does that have to do with this?"

"Because it puts Mac's life in danger even more. Murdoc killed my mom and I have to keep eyes on my grandparents so I can keep them safe. He may already want to kill Mac but if me and him are together Murdoc will use Mac against me." I tell her and she stopped

"I understand that Val I do, but we all draw that card around here. Murdoc wants all of us dead. He can use my mom, Cage's sister, Bozer and Matty's family, and me for Jack. You can't let your fears get in the way of your heart, Mac's smart, plus you and Jack would do anything to keep him safe so stop hiding and go for it." She tells me, "Listen I need to go do something real quick ok?" She asked and I nodded my head then she walked away

* * *

"Hey Val." Cage says walking up to me

"Sup?"

"Nothing. How are you?" She asked me and I looked at her face

"Riley told you."

"Told me what?" She asks and I narrow my eyes at her

"You know Cage I too can also read people, even someone like you." I point out and she chuckled

"Alright you caught me, but it wasn't Riley." She says and I looked at her confused

"Damn it Bozer." I mumbled under my breath

"So?"

"Sooo what?" I asked her

"Now what?"

"Now we go to the war room before Matty kills us." I said and started to walk then she followed. When I walked in I saw Mac look at me, I glanced at him then Cage walked in.

"Where's Riley?" Mac asked her

"No clue."

"Thought you said you were going to get her." Jack said

"I was. Couldn't find her."

"Why are you lying?" Mac asked her with a smile

"I'm not lying."

"Fact that you say you're not lying is what makes me think you're lying." Jack pointed out

"That logic makes no sense if I'm telling the truth."

"Don't Jedi mind trick me. You just admitted you're lying, right?" Jack asked and looked at Mac

"What's Cage lying about?" Matty asked walking in

"Uh, where Riley is or something. I don't know. I'm kind of confused at this point." Mac told her and smiled at me which I gave a small one in return

"Sorry I'm late." Riley said walking into the room

"Hey." Jack says to her

"Hey, Jack."

"Guys. If I can have your attention." Matty tells us and we look at her, "Meet Enzo Lemaire." She brought up an image on the screen of a blank photo with information

"Another guy who doesn't like cameras." Mac pointed out

"Lemaire is a black market art dealer who traffics in stolen art, but the big issue is what he does with the profits. He funnels them to a group on the terror watch list."

"Good-looking and he creatively finances terrorism. He sounds like a real catch." Jack says

"The alphabet agencies have been chasing this guy for years with nothing to show for it. Lemaire is paranoid and careful. And he does all of his business through one man, the Pawn."

"And who is this Mr. The Pawn? Is that like his agent or his manager or something?" Jack asked her

"No, more like his authenticator. The Pawn verifies each piece of art and then selects what he sends to Lemaire. Because of this buffer, Lemaire has been able to stay hidden for years until now. We recently obtained two pieces of intel. One: a way to contact the Pawn directly And two: a way to bait Lemaire from stepping out of the shadows. Turns out Lemaire has a wish list of items that he would like for his personal collection. We believe that if we approach the Pawn with one of these items..."

"Then this Lemaire dude will just magically appear." Jack finished

"Very good, Jack." She said to him and I gave a light laugh, "And we know where one of these items is."

"It's The Tower of Blue Horses." I said and everyone looked at me, "Uh-it's an important piece in the German Expressionist movement." I tell them

"Seriously? What's important about it? Looks like some guy just painted a bunch of horses blue." Jack mentioned

"Except that "some guy" is Franz Marc." I told him

"Never heard of him."

"Shocking, Jack. This painting was recently found in a basement in Germany and purchased at auction for $25 million by billionaire Todor Janssens. The painting is now locked away in his private gallery at his Belgian estate." Matty said

"So, since you're telling us this, I guess Todor turned you down cold when you asked if we could borrow his Franz Marc?" Riley asked her

"Correct, and he also refused to sell it, which is actually good for us."

"The art world is small. If we showed up out of the blue with an original Franz Marc, Lemaire would definitely be suspicious." Mac pointed out

"Okay, so if borrow and beg are out, guess that leaves us with one option." I say

"Steal." Jack concluded

"You going for the gold star today?" Matty asked him and I hid back a smile, "Mac and Jack will pose as art thieves, nick the Franz Marc, and deliver it to the Pawn. Then we will dry out Lemaire and finally put him away." Matty told us

"Yeah, Operation Artsy-Fartsy. I like it. Let's bounce."

* * *

"Okay, Team America, just 15 more feet and you're past the motion sensors." Riley told them over the radio as we watch them hold up sheets while walking through the mansion

 _"Well, this doesn't feel stupid at all."_ Jack says

 _"It's not stupid if it works."_ Mac tells him

 _"Well, just 'cause it works doesn't mean I got to like it."_

 _"The combination of a large surface area and slow movement fools the sensors into thinking that everything's fine."_ Mac explained

 _"I feel like I'm in the world's worst ghost costume."_ Jack said and started to make ghost sounds and I just shook my head

"Hey, hey, hey, hey."

"Okay, guys, just through that door." Riley says, "Jack, hold up your motion blocker to hide Mac's movement from the sensor." She told him

 _"They're tablecloths, Nancy Drew. Stop trying to make this sound cool."_

"You're sure whoever's in the control room can't see them?" I asked her

"I looped all the camera feeds in the west wing. As far as the guards are concerned, they're looking at a bunch of empty hallways."

 _"Okay, we're in. Hello, horses."_ Mac says

"Careful. Our Belgian billionaire's alarmed every piece of artwork in there. If you don't absolutely have to touch something, don't!" I tell them

 _"Jack, don't touch that."_ Mac says not even looking at him, _"I know how to get past this. Um, I need your shoelaces and, uh, and the boot."_

 _"Jack, give me your new boot, Jack, give me your cell phone." You know, a "please" would be nice. Not like you were raised by a pack of wolves or something. You have zero respect for my stuff, dude."_ Jack told him and we see him hand his boot to Mac, _"Oh, wait, wait, I see what you're doing, Dr. Jones. Yeah, I'm with you. Let's do it."_ Jack says and I see Mac lift the painting slightly then hung the boot on the back and took the painting down, _"That's it?"_ Jack asked him

 _"Yeah."_

 _"Man, stealing modern art is easy. And, you know, I really think I'm starting to understand it."_ Jack said

 _"There's more to it than just hanging a boot on a wall."_

 _"Is there really? Don't play around with it. Get out your little red wonder knife, cut it out of there."_ Jack told him and I put my head down shaking it

"You don't cut an original Franz Marc." I told him

 _"Why not?"_

"Because it's a Franz Marc." I said and looking at Cage and Riley as they smiled

 _"Oh, so what? I don't know what color horses are in Franz's world, but in Texas, they damn sure ain't.."_ Jack said then suddenly we hear the alarm go off and I put my head in my hand.

 _"What did you just do?"_ Mac asked him

 _"Nothing, I just sat in this chair."_

 _"It's not a chair, it's art."_ Mac said

 _"It's a chair."_

 _"It's-It's art. Get out of it."_ Mac told him

 _"Fine."_

"Guys, you've got a bunch of armed guards headed your way." Riley told them

 _"Since when is a chair art?"_ Jack asked

 _"Since it was made in the 18th century."_

 _"Oh, so if something's old, it's just automatically art?"_ Jack asked him

 _"Yes."_

 _"I'm a millionaire two times over. I got two La-Z-Boys at the house. It probably makes a better doorstop."_ Jack says and he put the chair under the door knob, _"Hurry up, man. Let's go. You got it? You got it_?" Jack asked him

 _"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."_

* * *

 _"You know, if the tables were turned, and you were a little bit more near my age, you would have sat in that chair. You know, to rest."_ Jack says as they make their way through the mansion then hid behind a wall

 _"Not an original Louis XV."_

 _"Since when are you the chair art expert? I remember when you had an old toilet in your dining room You remember that?"_ Jack asked him

 _"It was an antique prototype, made by Thomas Crapper."_ Mac told him and Jack snickered, _"I know. Crapper was a real guy."_

 _"Who just happened to make crappers?"_

"Guys, you're gonna make me throw up, just get out of there." Riley tells them and they start to move

"Okay, take a left at the end of this hall." I tell them

 _"Yeah, take a left's not really an option there, kiddo."_ Jack tells me as they duck behind a wall

"Right takes you to the east wing. I didn't prep those cameras. Security will be able to see you." Riley pointed out

 _"We have no choice, Riles. You're just gonna have to cut the cameras."_ Mac told her

"Cutting cameras means cutting comms. You'll be working in the dark."

 _"I do my best work in the dark."_ Jack said and I rolled my eyes

"Gross." Riley cringed then began to type, "Cutting cameras now. Be quick." She said

 **Mac POV...**

"You think Riley's been acting weird lately?" Jack whispered to me and I looked at him

"You want to talk about this now?" I asked him

"She was acting weird at the briefing, weird on the plane, weird on the van ride all the way over here."

"Jack, we should stay focused on the armed guards trying to kill us, and, uh, later we can worry about whether or not Riley's acting weird. You know, after we escape." I tell him

"Hmm. What about your situation?" He asked referring to Val and I glared at him

"Later Jack, later." I said and moved forward

* * *

"Hey, Mac, I don't mean..."

"Jack, get the door. Use a chair, just don't sit in it." I said cutting him off and moved to the window

"Oh, very funny."

 _"Okay, guys, any time now. You got to get out of there."_ I hear Riley tells us

"Yeah, that's what we're trying to do." I replied and took the painting off my shoulders and grabbed a few things out of the desk then moved to the curtains taking them down

"I-I don't mean to I don't I don't mean to beat a dead tower of blue horses here or anything, but I know Riley, man, and I know when something's really wrong with her. You got to help me out here. Huh? You got to help me out. Come on." Jack begged and I looked at him after cutting the curtain

"Okay, it's not the t..." I started to say but I saw the look on his face, "You could be right. But whatever it is, if Riley hasn't brought it up maybe she doesn't want you to know." I tell him

"Why wouldn't she want me to know?"

"Let me put it this way. You are the closest thing she has to a dad. And there are just some things you don't tell your dad." I mentioned

"I tell my dad everything."

"Tijuana?" I asked him

"Except Tijuana."

"The point is, Riley knows where to find you, and she ain't exactly shy. So, if she wants your help, you'll know." I tell him tying the cut curtain to the painting and attached the stapler

"Okay, okay. Then what about Val? Hmm? I felt the awkward vibe between you two before she walked into the war room."

"What about it?" I asked him

"Why can't you man up and tell her you like her already?"

"It's not that simple." I point out

"Why not?"

"Because.." I started to say

"Because why? Because of Murdoc?"

"No that's not it." I tell him

"Then why man?"

"Because I love her." I admitted and he looked at me shocked, "Okay? It's not just a simple crush that I have ok?, it's because I love her, I love who she is not who she came from. I have never felt this way about anyone, not even Nikki and I'm worried that it will affect the team."

"Man, I..don't worry about the team. Nothing will affect us, you know that." He said raising a good point, "Don't take forever on this man, you never know how short your life will be." He says and the guards start banging on the door

"You had to sit in the chair, didn't you?" I asked him and moved to the window as the door busted open

"Hey, man." Jack said and started to fight the guards as I threw the one end of the cut curtain out the window latching onto something then sent the painting down.

 _"Guys, if you hear me, I've got three more headed right for you."_

"Uh, Mac, I don't think that zip line's gonna bear our weight there, homie." Jack told me walking over

"Oh, it won't."

"Then how the hell are we gonna get out of here?" He asked

 _"Anytime now."_

"Aim for the pool." I tell him and ran towards the window jumping out of it landing in the pool

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Hey, can you go get them, we just got a meeting." Riley told me and I looked at her and Cage

"Why can't one of you go get them?" I asked

"Because I need to pay for this," She says grabbing something off the shelf next to her, "Plus maybe you'll get lucky and he'll be shirtless." Riley tells me and Cage held back a smile.

"I hate both of you." I tell them and walked away to the bathroom and knocked on the door then opened it

"Boundaries." Jack says to Mac and I looked at them

"Just got word from the Pawn. His sources confirmed our claim about stealing the painting."

"So we get a meeting?" Mac asked

"We did. Riley just got us a time and a location. Barcelona, so wheels up in 20. Wrap it up in here, girls." I tell them and walked out heading over to Riley and Cage.

"So?" She asked me

"No, and I'm getting you back for this." I tell her ans she chuckled as I walked out of the store

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"We have an appointment." I told the clerk at the counter of the vape shop then he hit a buzzer and two men walked out then patted us down

"Whoa whoa, whoa, watch the hands there, TSA." Jack tells the guy and they finish then we head in the back

"You must be the Pawn.." I started to say to him as he walked over to me and took the tube I had the painting in and turned on the table in front of us

"Not much of a talker." Jack says and went to lean on it

"Don't lean on that." The Pawn told him then unrolled the painting on the table and turned on a light then examined it, "Impressive. You avoided damaging the painting when you removed it from the frame."

"Yeah, well, I'm always careful when I do that, you know." Jack says and picked something up

"Put that down." The Pawn told him and lifted the lid to a machine and placed the painting in there

"Easy with the merch there, pal. You break it, you bought it. You know what I mean?" Jack asked and laughed softly, I knew I should brought Val or Cage with me instead, "What is that thing, anyway" Jack asked him

"Just another verification technique. The forgers will copy the final version of a painting, but they seldom bother with duplicating the early sketches or paintings hidden underneath." He says and an image popped up on the screen, "But you, gentlemen, appear to be in possession of an authentic Franz Marc. My employer will be very happy."

"Well, making him happy is the goal. We're hoping this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship." I tell him as he rolled the painting up

"I, uh, have been authorized to offer you $7 million."

"$7 million? It just went for 25 at auction." Jack says

"But we're willing to hand this over for free. If we can get a face-to-face meeting with Lemaire?" I asked the man and he laughed

"Well. The art world is very small, gentlemen. And none of my friends or associates have ever heard anything about you until you acquired this painting."

"Well, until now, our operation has serviced a very small, select group of clients." I tell him

"Yeah. Yeah, we just want to add Lemaire to the guest list. Know what I'm saying?" Jack added

"Well, I will pass your proposal along to Mr. Lemaire, let him decide. Hmm? We'll be in touch." The Pawn says and handed the case with the painting back to me

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Well, that could've gone better." Riley tells the boys after they get back in the van

"What are you talking about? We nailed it. Totally nailed it. The Pawn's setting up a meeting with Lemaire as we speak." Jack says

"From what I heard, all we know for certain is that the Pawn can't be trusted." Cage told him and I looked at Mac

"What is it?" I asked him and he looked at me, "Why are you making the "there's something wrong" face?"

"Stop the van." He told Cage and she hit the brakes then he got out

"Mac. What's the problem?" Jack asked him and we followed him back into the shop and to the back

"What's going on?" Cage asked as we walked into the empty room

"Whoa, where'd all their stuff go?" Jack asked

"The painting we stole had a nail hole in the corner where it was attached to the frame. This one does not." Mac pointed out

"So this is a fake?" I asked him

"Yeah. We just lost the Franz Marc, the Pawn, and our only lead on Lemaire."

* * *

 _"You lost the Franz Marc. That's what you're telling me?"_ Matty asked us over the phone

"I mean, it was really elegant in its simplicity. The real Franz Marc, it goes into a machine, and then they show us an X-ray image, congratulate us on the authenticity, then pull out a fake. It's just sleight of hand, but at its finest." Mac told her

 _"Oh. I'm glad you're all so impressed by their con. You know what would impress me? Someone..anyone telling me how you plan on getting The Tower of Blue Horses back and bring down Lemaire."_

"Well, get this. I pulled call detail records from the cell tower closest to our current location. I found a single call placed to a second burner phone. Time-stamped right after Mac and Jack walked out with the fake." Riley told us

"That must be the Pawn calling Lemaire to report the switch was a success." I point out

"I'd bet good money on it."

 _"Riley, do you think you can pinpoint the location of that second burner?"_ Matty asked her

"Already done. Tracked it to a mall in Hungary. A mall that was closed for renovations in 2008, and never reopened."

"Sounds like the perfect place to store millions of dollars in stolen art." Mac says

* * *

"I thought this place was abandoned." Jack said after we crawled through the hole in the fence and watched people go into the abandoned mall

"It's supposed to be." Riley says

"Wait a second. Lemaire isn't just storing his stolen art here. He's selling it. This is an auction." Mac pointed out from behind me

"Good thing about malls: multiple entrances. I suggest we find one with less, uh, guys with guns?" I asked

"Agreed. But five people sneaking around in the parking lot's a little conspicuous. I think we should split up." Jack says and I looked at him Riley and I will go left."

"And Cage, Val and I will go the other way." Mac added and I looked at Cage, "Keep your comms hot, and be careful." Mac tell them and we start to walk.

 _"What are you doing? Why are you being weird?"_ I hear Riley ask on my comm

 _"I'm not being weird, you're being weird. Super weird."_ Jack told her, _"Now, did I do something to piss you off? Because if I did something to upset you, just tell me and I'll stop doing it, at least I'll-I'll try."_

 _"There's nothing's going on. All right? You didn't do anything to piss me off, I promise."_ She tells him

"Perhaps we should focus on the mission, hash this out later? Open comms mean Mac, Val and I can hear every word." Cage told them

"Yeah, but Jack's gonna tell me about this at the house later on, so this saves me time." Mac said quietly to us and I give a small smile as Cage giggled

 _"Riley, when have you ever been shy about telling me when you're upset with me?"_ Jack asked her

 _"I'm allowed to have personal situations that don't involve you."_

 _"Ha. I knew it. Something-Something's going on, isn't it?"_ He asked

 _"Look, I just need to do this on my own, all right? Can you, can you let me do that? Can you trust me to do that?"_ She asked him

 _"Riley, you're one of the most capable people I know, and I trust that you can handle anything that comes your way, but by now I hope you realize that I am here for you"_ He told her

 _"I know."_

 _"..in whatever capacity you need me."_ He adds

 _"I know. I know."_ She says and there was a pause

 _"Do you mind? We're kind of having a moment here."_ Jack said and Mac stopped us

 _"Put the gun down."_ A man told them

 _"Oh, hey, fellas. It's cool, it's cool. We worked it out."_ Jack said and we started to run.

* * *

"You will hang there and watch, most likely." We hear someone say to Jack and Riley as we ran into the room they were in staying hidden There is nothing else you can do but hang there like a little, whiny dog. Now tell me what I want to know."

"Now is the time Jack would ask if you have any brilliant ideas." Cage says to Mac

"Got one. Not sure if it's brilliant. You two get ready, things are gonna happen fast." He tells us then got up.

* * *

Mac pushed the crate out full of packing peanuts that were on fire and they exploded, he climbed up the rack that Jack and Riley's hands were tied to while me and Cage took care of the guards and I walked over and punched The Pawn knocking him out then went over to Riley, "You okay?" I asked her helping her up and she nodded

* * *

"We have Lemaire in custody, Franz Marc is back in our possession, and we cut off a terrorist revenue stream." Mac says as we walk back into Phoenix

"All in all, I'd say the mission was a..." Jack started to say

"Don't do that." Mac told him

"..Work of art."

"Maybe in a Jackson Pollock kind of way?" Cage asked with a smile

"Please don't encourage him." Riley told her

"Congrats, but your success is not the headline here." Matty tells us and we all stopped

"What do you mean?" I asked her

"Our favorite lab tech just uncovered a massive spy ring."

"Wait, Bozer?" Mac asked and we all looked at her shocked as she held her phone so we could all see

"Yeah. Karl Wiessler, disgraced BND operative, now works for a rogue private intelligence firm. Wiessler was hired to identify undercover government operatives while they're still in training. Thanks to Bozer, the entire operation has been completely shut down."

"That is awesome. Go, Bozer." Riley says

"Yeah, I know. Where is he? We should be popping champagne with him right now." Mac added

"Bozer is right where he should be in class. He's still got two weeks left of training." Matty told us

"Ooh. He's gonna be the most popular one in school now. Big man on campus. Of course he'll have to walk by that giant bronze statue they erected of me there I'm kind of a legend." Jack says as him and Mac walk into the war room

"Didn't they kick you out after the whole septic tank incident?" Mac asked him

"I'll tell you the same thing I told my instructor: I thought it was a dummy grenade. And I didn't get kicked out, I graduated early."

"Does that mean you even graduated?" Mac asked him

"Can we change the subject, please?"

* * *

"Hey Val can I talk to you?" Mac asked catching up to me in the hall

"Uh sure."

"Listen about..." He started to say but Matty came out of the war room

"Val," She says and I looked at her, "I need to talk to you." She told me and headed back in

"Um..I should see what she wants." I tell Mac

"Yeah of course."

"Rain check?" I asked him and he nodded then I walked into the war room, "What's up?"

"Oversight has reviewed your request for visitation." She tells me and I sit down on the coffee table.

"And?" I asked her and felt my heart racing

"They accepted it." She says and I sighed out of happiness, "But."

"But what?"

"They only agreed to 2 days a week whenever your not on missions." She tells me and I closed my eyes then nodded

"I understand. I can do that."

"The other good news is your first visit is tomorrow morning at 10AM." She says and I smiled then went down and hugged her.

"Thank you Matty. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

* * *

The next day I walked through the hall following the agent who was escorting me to the visitation room while I tried to calm the butterflies in my stomach and we came up on a door, I stood there and waited while the agent scanned his badge to open it. When it did I walked in and stopped, "Hi Cassian." I said and the little boy looked up at me and I smiled at him.


	9. Chapter 9

**You can run, but you can't hide**

"What is that?" Cassian asked me and I looked at him then at my picture

"It's a monkey. My favorite animal."

He giggled and looked at it, "That doesn't look like a monkey."

"Ok maybe I didn't do that great in art class but it's a monkey." I tell him with a smile and looked at his picture, "What did you draw?" I asked him and he showed me

"That's you, that's me, and that's Dad." He told me and I tensed up, "I figured I'd give this to him when I see him again."

I sighed then put on a supporting smile, "That's great buddy." I tell him rubbing his back. This was my 4th visit with him and after the 2nd one I finally told him I was his sister. He still doesn't quite understand that we came from different moms but he was happy about the news, "Okay what should we draw next?" I asked him and the door opened.

"Sorry to interrupt Miss Clarke but your director needs you back at work." The agent told me and I sighed

"Okay. Thank you." I tell him and he walked out

"You have to go?"

"Yeah buddy I do, but don't worry I'll be back before you know it, and I'm bringing you a gift." I tell him and his eyes lit up

"Really? What is it?"

"Well I can't tell you that otherwise it ruins the surprise, but trust me you will like it." I said and faced him, "Can I get a hug?" I asked and he wrapped his little arms around me

"I love you Val." He told me and tears formed in my eyes

"I love you too buddy."

* * *

"Sorry I had to pull you away Val, Cage is on another assignment so I need an extra hand." Matty told me when I walked into the war room

"It's okay I understand."

"How are the visits going?" Riley asked me

"Great. He is so amazing and despite who his dad is he is the sweetest little boy ever and um..just before I came here he told he loved me, for the first time as we said good bye." I tell them and Riley out her hand on my shoulder

"That's great!" She says and I nodded then see Mac in the hall talking to Jill

"Yo! Goldilocks! Do I need to send you a personalized invitation?" Matty asked him through the glass and I snorted

"No, Matty, I'll be right in." He told her then said something to Jill then walked in

"Oh. So glad you can join us. Sorry to interrupt your busy schedule with a matter of national security." Matty tells him and Jack snorted, "Got something you want to say, Jack?"

"No. Maybe. I just love it when someone other than me's in the doghouse, that's all."

"You know what? I take it back. Don't say anything. Just listen." She says and pulled an image up on the screen, "Last month, 50 canisters of VX nerve gas were discovered in a bunker in Bulgaria. U.S. forces seized them and sent them back to the States, earmarked for destruction. Unfortunately, only 49 of them were actually destroyed."

"Let me guess. Number 50 went missing." Mac mentioned

"Yeah."

"Ooh. Ooh, that's no bueno." Jack says

"No bueno doesn't even begin to describe it, Jack. I've seen what VX can do up close last year in a Syrian village. First, it just looks like you caught a cold. Runny nose, shortness of breath. Then the muscle spasms start..." I explained

"And they don't stop until you either get treatment or die." Matty finished

"Well, do we have a suspect?" Mac asked her

"We don't need suspects when we know who did it." She says and brought up a picture, "Meet Dr. Ian Carson. The technician tasked with destroying the VX. But instead of completing his job, he put the missing canister up for sale on the black market. Guess he was looking to finance his retirement."

"Looks like the good doctor is gonna be spending his retirement in the supermax." Riley points out

"He sure will. Phoenix TAC teams are en route to sweep him up." Matty says

"Okay. Where's the canister now?" I asked her

"We tracked it to Carson's lab, which brings us to your assignment. Go get me number 50 before it falls into the wrong hands."

"That's it? That's the mission? Really? Steal a can of VX soda from an unguarded freezer?" Jack asked and I looked at him, "It's too easy. You want me to hop on one leg?"

"We're talking about a canister of deadly nerve gas, Jack, not Mountain Dew, pretty delicate situation here."

"I know that."

"Are you sure?" She asked him

"Yes, ma'am. What do you want me to do, start crying about it? That ain't gonna do anybody any good. And I want an apology right now, eye-to-eye. Dissing the Dew. You know how much I love that stuff. No?" He asked and I looked at Matty, if looks could kill, "Let me guess, I'm in the doghouse again."

"You can take solace in the fact that you never really left. Riley, you're here with me. Mac, Jack, Val, you're in the field. Now, go."

* * *

 _"Getting hungry. Getting hungry. Hey, you know what we should've done? Brought some snacks. Should've known this was gonna take forever."_ I hear Jack say in my ear piece and I shook my head

 _"It's a brute force code breaker. It's trying every possible number combination in succession. We knew this was gonna take awhile."_ Mac told him

 _"Brute force? You want to see brute force? Let me shoot the lock off that thing, go a whole lot faster."_

 _"And if you accidentally hit the canister of VX gas, you and Mac will be a whole lot deader."_ Matty told him

 _"Yeah, well, it wouldn't be boring. I'm bored. I don't do bored well."_

 _"Really? Hadn't noticed."_ Mac said

 _"Okay, I got another one. You ready? If you could have a meal right now, with anyone, living or dead, who would it be? Go."_ Jack says

 _"Okay. Erwin Schrodinger."_ Mac told him

 _"Who?"_

 _"Erwin Schrodinger."_

 _"Living or dead?"_ Jack asked

"Actually, kind of both." I told him and I could tell Mac was smiling

 _"He was an Austrian physicist who, uh.."_

 _"I don't care,"_ Jack said cutting him off, _"Living or dead, please, why do you got to sprinkle nerd juice over every single game we play?"_ Jack asked him

 _"Okay. What about you?"_ Mac asked him

 _"What about me what?"_

 _"Who would you have lunch with?"_ Mac asked

 _"Oh, yeah, yeah. That's easy, man. Han Solo. Boom."_ Jack says and I rolled my eyes

 _"I thought the person had to be living or dead, Jack."_ Riley told him

 _"Well, Han Solo totally lives. Just a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away."_

 _"What about you Val?"_ Mac asked me

"My mom." I said and looked down at her ring turning it around my finger

 _"Uh Guys, I just lost satellite feed of your location."_ Riley told us and I sat up

 _"Can you switch satellites?"_ Matty asked her

 _"I tried, but the only other one in the area's been knocked out too."_ She says and I see a black van pull up

"Hey, I've got a van parking outside the building. No license plate." I told them

 _"Can you see the driver?"_ Matty asked me and I pulled out my phone taking pictures

"Yeah And all his buddies. Sending pics to Phoenix now. Mac, Jack, you've got what looks like a heavily armed merc squad heading your way. We need that freezer open ASAP." I said

 _"Yeah, is there any way to get your pencil pusher to push those pencils any faster?"_ Jack asked him

 _"Short answer: no."_

 _"Okay. Well, looks like we're gonna have to do this the Jack Dalton way. Step aside."_ Jack tells him

"Wait, wait, wait, wait." Mac said then laughed

 _"I used the photos Val sent to ID our uninvited guests."_ Riley says

 _"That's Dev Singh. He's ex-MARCOS. Spent some time as a freelance merc. Now he works for Annisa Chandra. She's an Indonesian extremist."_ Matty informed us

 _"Yikes. She's been linked to the murder of a dozen police in Bali, at least four bombings in Jakarta."_ Riley added

 _"Yeah, I know her work. And I'm not a fan."_ Jack tells us

 _"She must've heard that the VX was up for sale, sent her mercs in to steal it."_ Matty mentioned

 _"If there's anything Annisa Chandra should not have, it's this."_ Mac said, _"Good thing we got it first."_

 _"CIA's been trying to shut down her group for over a decade."_ Riley pointed out

 _"This may be the best shot we ever get at her. Mac, put that canister back."_ Matty told him, _"Let Chandra's people take it."_

 _"I'm sorry. Did you, uh did you say "put it back"?"_ Jack asked her

 _"Yes. I know how dangerous a move this is. But with an actionable lead on Chandra, this is the play. She must have a plan to deploy it. Which means that if the mercs find the VX missing, they'll bail on their objective and go dark."_

 _"But if we let them steal the VX, they'll proceed according to plan, and we can track them back to Chandra and sweep up her whole operation."_ Riley added

 _"For the record: this plan sucks."_ Jack says

 _"Matty, are you sure about this?"_ Mac asked her

 _"I am. Put that canister back, now."_

 _"We're not gonna have time to break into the freezer again, Matty."_ Jack told her

 _"I memorized the code."_ Mac tells him

"Nice."

 _"Okay, let's go."_ Mac says

 _"How are we doing, guys?"_ Matty asked them after a pause

 _"We have company, but at least we put the VX back."_ Mac told her

 _"Maybe we should we loan them your pencil thingy."_ I heard Jack say

 _"Okay, Matty. Chandra's guys have the super deadly nerve gas, so I guess everything's going according to plan."_ Mac told her

 _"You're not the only one that gets to come up with crazy plans, blondie. The VX is a big threat, but Chandra is a much bigger one."_

 _"An FYI, we could still get that nerve gas back if you change your mind. We could take them."_ Jack says

 _"No. Give the mercs plenty of space. This whole plan goes belly up if you're spotted."_

 _"Oh, we're giving them plenty of space. So much space, I don't see how we're gonna follow them."_ Mac told her

 _"You're not. Val, you still got eyes on the VX?"_ She asked me and I see them walk out of the building getting into the van

"Yeah. And the gentlemen stealing it."

 _"Good. Stay on the VX, and don't take your eyes off of it."_ She tells me, _"Mac, Jack, find another ride and then catch up with Val."_

 _"Ooh. You mean steal a car. I like that."_ Jack said

"Oh, and from here on, no comms. These guys killed our satellites and our lab's security cameras within seconds. They're pros. We can't risk them scanning radio channels and picking up our chatter." Matty told us

"Copy that. We're going dark." Mac says

 _"Actually, they can't monitor the entire cellular network. It's way too big. Which means we can use standard phones, and I can track your cell signals."_ Riley pointed out

 _"Let's do that."_

 _"I really hope this works, boss."_ Jack tells her and the van leaves, I give it a few minutes then follow.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"All right. Thanks to Riley, we are now tracking Val's cell signal. Looks like she's just over five miles ahead of us." I tell Jack

"Well, not for long." He says and sped up

* * *

"So I overheard Riley. Is her dad back in the picture?" I asked Jack

"That's up to her. She asked me to stay out of it."

"How long did that last before you were at his front doorstep, accosting him?" I asked

"Oh, about 30 minutes." He said and I chuckled, "Would've taken 15, but there was a car wreck on Sunset."

"Well, you are nothing if not consistent. How did that go?"

"Honestly? I don't know, man. I-It was weird. You know, he actually thanked me for tuning him up all those years ago?" He tells me

"He was glad you beat him up?" I asked and he laughed

"Yeah. Yeah, that's what he said. Must've hit him a lot harder than I remember, or something."

"I'm guessing Riley doesn't know about this visit?" I asked him

"Oh, hell no. No, she would murder me and feed me to her dog."

"Huh. She has a dog?" I asked

"No, but she'd get one just for this."

"What about your whole "I hate secrets" thing?" I ask

"What about it? I do hate secrets. When I'm not in them."

"Do you think her dad's changed?" I ask him

"Well, he better hope so, for his sake. But in my experience, leopards don't change their stripes."

"You know it's tigers." I corrected

"I know. I know that. I'm just getting you riled up. Relaxes me." He says and I laugh, "How about you and Val?" He asked me and I looked at him confused

"What about us?"

"Did you guys talk yet about the almost kiss?" He asked and I sighed

"No. No, I backed off so she could visit Cassian."

"Hmm and what are your thoughts on that?" He asked me

"Which part?"

"The visitations." He says

"It's her brother you know? Despite the fact that Murdoc is their dad they deserve to know each other."

"Yeah, yeah I get it. I do, but you know if Murdoc ever found out he would flip a lid right?" Jack asked me and I looked at him

"I know, but Val will do anything she can to protect Cassian from him. No matter what."

* * *

"Guys, find Val now." Matty told us over the phone and my heart began to race as Jack sped up and we pulled into an lot seeing her car sitting there, but when I got out and rushed over to it there were bullet holes in the windshield and glass on the seat then I walked forward picking up her phone

"Matty. Yeah, it's Jack. We found Val's car, but it's Swiss cheese, man. She is MIA." Jack said into his phone

"So, now the mercs have Val and the nerve gas, and we have no idea where they are." I tell him walking back over and sighed

* * *

 _"Riley, I need my satellites up, I need my eye in the sky, and I need it now."_ Matty tells her

 _"I just found a hardwired security camera across the street from Val's last-known position. This is from ten minutes ago."_

 _"Guys, they're heading north. Go get Val."_ Matty told us and we got in the car and drove off

* * *

 **Val POV...**

Dev punched me in the face again as I sat in the back of the van with my hands tied then he sat in front of me pointing his gun at my head, "My patience is wearing thin."

"If you want what's in my head, putting a bullet in it isn't gonna help. So why don't you holster that gun, and we can trade intel? I'll tell you who I work for, and you can tell me when you plan on releasing the gas in Grand Central Station." I tell him

"Who told you our plan?"

"You did. Just now. Bag full of New York City subway cards, and, no offense, but you don't seem like the sightseeing type." I tell him, "So, if the subway is your target, I figure you'll go big. Either Penn Station or Grand Central. 50/50 odds I took a guess." I point out to him

"Perhaps I should find you front row seats in Grand Central."

"Your threat holds no weight. The canister, the one you stole, it's a fake." I tell him

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I'm freelance, just like you. And when my employer heard about the VX, she sent my team in to steal it." I said and he stood up walking away then grabbing the canister then sat back down in front of me holding it up

"But you were too late."

"Actually, we got there first. My boss decided she wanted Chandra and the gas. So we stole the real gas and let you steal the fake." I mentioned

"Why?" He asked me

"So that we could track you back to whatever hole you crawled out of and take out the competition. Don't believe me? Crack it open, take a whiff. Or wait and see what Chandra does to you when you release a canister of harmless argon gas in Grand Central Station."

"Why are you telling me all this?" He asked

"I hear Chandra pays her operators very, very well. A lot more than my current boss does. I'm looking to make a change."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Matty, we're northbound. No sign of Val yet." Jack told her as we tried to catch up and my phone chimed, "What is it?" Jack asked me

"Nothing."

"Come on, man, what is it?" He asked again

"It's-it's Jill. She's having trouble processing the film I found in my dad's cabin." I tell him

"What film?" He asked and I didn't say anything, "Uh Oh, come on, man. I thought we agreed there'd be no Lone-Rangering while we searched for your dad."

"You know the Lone Ranger had a sidekick, right?" I asked him

"You do realize you're making my point for me, right? Come on, Mac, even the Lone Ranger needed help. And so do you, if you'd just ask for it."

"I would have, but you were a little busy helicopter-parenting Riley. Besides, I didn't think I was gonna find anything useful." I tell him

"Which is always the moment you find something useful."

"Yeah. Still could be nothing. Although rolls of 8mm film do not hide themselves, do they?" I ask

"No, they do not. And that might be the reason somebody burned down your dad's cabin, to destroy whatever secrets that film had on it. It might be the key to finding your pops."

"It might be."

"But first things first. We get Val and that VX back, then we figure out who burned down Daddy's cabin, and we'll go pay them a little visit, all right?" He asked me

"All right, sounds good."

"But before we do that you tell that girl how you feel." He tells me and I sighed. I really should.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"You know, the longer you take debating whether you trust me or not, the further away the real VX gets." I told them

"We're not debating. We don't trust you."

"Yeah, well, you should, because I'm the only person who can get you the gas. The real gas. So you let me go, I'll get the gas, I'll bring it to you. Call it my buy-in to my new employer's group." I said

"You must think I'm quite stupid. How do I know you'll bring me the VX gas?"

"Because if I don't, Chandra will kill us both. So, do we have a deal or not?" I asked him

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

 _"Guys, good news, Riley got our satellite back up."_ Matty told us

 _"Well, kind of just hacked into someone else's."_ Riley says

"Potato, po-tah-to, Ri. Good work." Jack told her

"We still on the mercs' tail?" I asked

 _"Yeah. If Jack keeps driving that fast, you should have eyes on the mercs and the VX in a few minutes."_ She says and I see Val laying in the road

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" I yell to Jack and he slammed on the breaks then I got out and ran over to her cutting her ties

"Val, you all right?" Jack asked her and I helped her sit up

"I'm fine."

 _"Wait, you just got Val back?"_ Matty asked

"Yeah, I kind of got myself back." Val says standing up

"That's very impressive, but where's the can of Mountain Dew?" Jack asked her

"You have it."

"Huh?" He asked

"Or at least, that's what the mercs think."

"Wait, you convinced them that the canister they stole is a fake?" I asked her impressed, she just gets more amazing by the second

"I did. It's not like they can crack it open and double-check, can they?"

 _"And so now you're supposed to bring them the real one?"_ Matty asked her

"I've got 30 minutes till they send coordinates for the meet."

 _"And so now, we just need a fake canister convincing enough to fool these guys. Jack, can you get started on that?"_ Matty asked him and he looked confused

"Uh.."

 _"Kidding. Blondie, do your thing."_ Matty told me

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Uh yeah, got everything here I need to make fake VX gas." MAc said after looking at the shelf back at the lab

"What's it gonna be really?" I asked him as he walked over with the items

"Homemade tear gas." He says

"Ah, perfect."

"Yeah, it should work great." He started to mix everything up, "So, when you get the real VX, signal me, I'll trigger the tear gas and then Jack and I will swoop in with the cavalry."

"Oh, there's gonna be cavalry?" I asked him

"Yes, there is. Well, if Jack can convince the local SWAT team to give us a hand, then, yes. Uh, all jokes aside, this is going to work. I've got your back." He told me and I smiled at him.

"Thanks Mac."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Are you sure we're in the right spot..."

"Only as sure as you asked me the last time." I said to Jack cutting him off as I watched Val stand on the side of the road away from us

"Okay."

"She's literally standing on the coordinates the mercs sent." I tell him and the van pulled up to her and she got in, "That's it." I said and the van drives off

"Okay, let's boogie. We aren't gonna lose her a second time." Jack says and started the car. _Damn right we're not_

* * *

"Okay, guys. I got ears on Val. I opened up the mic on her cell phone." Riley told us while me, Jack and SWAT got into position

"Okay, Mac, SWAT team's in position, now what?" Jack asked me

"Nobody moves until we get confirmation from Val that she's secured the real gas."

 _"Kept my end of the bargain. What time are we hitting Grand Central?"_ We hear her ask Dev

 _"There's been a slight change of plans. Since you guessed our target, Chandra's picked a new one."_ He told her and it hit me

"Wait a second."

"What?" Jack asked me

"VX gas it's, it's water-soluble. This place supplies all the water to New York City."

"So they're gonna deploy that nerve gas right here, right now?" He asked and I nodded, "Hey, be ready, boys. We're about to jump."

 _"No offense, but we don't trust you, not yet. So, just to be safe, we're going to drop both canisters into the water. That way, no matter what, the real VX gets into New York's water supply."_

 _"Albatross."_ Val whispered

"That's the signal." I tell Jack and deployed the tear gas

"SWAT, go now, now, now."

"Tear gas. It's a fake." I hear him say then heard Val grunt as gunfire went of when we entered the building and I ducked running over to her seeing her punch Dev in the face knocking him down and one of his men grabbed their gun but I punched him before he could shoot it then kicked him down the stairs and grabbed the canister, suddenly a bullet hits it and the gas leaked out.

"Drop your weapons. Hands in the air! Get down on your knees now!"

"Mac! Mac!" I hear Jack yell and I ran into another room and locked the door, "Hey. What the hell are you doing?"

"It's leaking." I tell him holding it up and I saw Val's face

"Then get out of there." She told me

"It's too late. I'm already exposed."

"All right. Step back."

"Wait, wait, wait. Break the glass, we all die. And the VX could get in the water. He'll think of something." I hear Val tell him as I looked around then grabbed a pair of scissors stabbing my leg and I screamed in pain

"Now what are you doing?" Jack asked

"Adrenaline. Injury releases adrenaline in the body, which can slow the effects of the gas. He's buying himself time." She told him

"I'm gonna make a vent hood, like the ones in every laboratory ever built." I say to them groaning in pain

"Won't that just spread the gas to the air above the plant?" Jack asked

"No. Sewer gas lines are already set up to safely dispose of methane." I said cutting a CD up and attached it to the drive of the computer, "They push the gas through an industrial flare." I explained going into the fridge and grabbed a tin foil wrapped sandwich taking the tin foil off, "I'm gonna use that same system to ignite the VX gas and burn it off before it can disperse." I said setting it up then turned it on, "See? It's working." I tell them and the alarm goes off as the smoke cleared then I unlocked the door and they caught me

"Come on, man. Now, how the hell did you survive locking yourself in a room full of nerve gas?" Jack asked me

"Aah, I didn't. It takes 18 hours to kill you, so I need to get to a hospital now."

* * *

I opened my eyes in the hospital as I laid on the bed and saw Val sitting in a chair next to me, "Hey." I said and she looked at me then scooted closer

"Hey. You're becoming a regular here."

"I should ask if they have a loyalty card. I'm, like, two punches away from a free kidney." I tell her and she smiled then I groaned in pain

"You okay?" She asked me putting her hand on my shoulder and just that lightest touch made my whole body weak.

"Yeah. Yeah."

"You know, Matty and I flipped the mercs we captured at the plant. As we speak, Phoenix agents are rounding up Chandra's whole group, including the queen bee herself." She told me

"That's great."

"You know, Mac, what you did back there, that was a hell of a gamble." She says to me, I saw the worry on her face

"Occupational hazard. Besides, you played a gamble too when they took you."

"Well as much as I hate to say it but maybe that's the one thing I got from Murdoc that is actually useful." She said and looked down

"Hey," I tell her and she looked back up at me, "You're still nothing like him, okay? Everyone sees that, including me." I said and she nodded her head, "Val, listen about the other night at my house.."

"It's ok we don't need to..."

"No," I stopped her and grabbed her hand, "We do. Val I have held this in for to long and maybe it's the whole almost dying thing or maybe I just feel like it's the right time but..I like you, more then a friend. Now I know that sounds childish but I.." I started to tell her but I got cut off when she leaned forward more and kissed me. I couldn't even begin to describe what I was feeling right now, but whatever it was, it was amazing. I put my hand on her face and kissed her back feeling my whole body tingle and my heart race then she pulled away.

"Took you long enough." She tells me and I smiled at her

"So does that mean.."

"Yes Mac, I feel the same way." She laughed and I looked at her confused

"Well why didn't you say anything?"

"Oh come on the girl is always suppose to make the first move? Pfft, please." She said with a smirk and I moved her face closer to me and kissed her again, I didn't want to stop, "All right easy. You're suppose to be resting."

"Yeah, yeah." I groaned and she sat back down, "Okay then, once I'm out of here. Would you like to go on a date with me?" I asked her and she looked at me like she was thinking

"I don't know, calender's pretty full. I have this job where I go to different countries fighting bad guys." I chuckled and she smiled, "But I think I can squeeze you in." She said then her phone rang, "Um I have to take this. I'll be right back." She told me as she stood up giving me a quick kiss then walked out. I smiled as she went, I finally did it, I finally told the girl I love how I felt, and nothing could ever ruin that.


	10. Chapter 10

**You can run, but you can't hide**

I walked into Phoenix and went to head to the war room but then I feel someone pull me around the corner, when I looked I saw that it was Mac, "Hey you." He said and kissed me as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders

"Hi" I replied breaking apart

"I know we can't stay like this but I just wanted to kiss you before we head in." He tells me and I giggled

"Yeah, I don't want to suffer the wrath of Matty when she finds out why we're late."

"We'll tell her when it's time." He said and I nodded then we walked into the room

"Two hours ago, there was an accident on board a college research ship, the R. , which stranded it in the Arctic Ocean 50 miles offshore." Cage told us

"What happened?" I asked her

"Explosion in the engine room. Blast killed the captain, four crew members and severely damaged the ship. And temperatures are dropping fast."

"Okay, Zoe, I've tasked a satellite to keep us connected. We shouldn't lose your signal." Riley told the girl on the screen

"Zoe Kimura, meet Angus MacGyver. MacGyver is an engineer here at the think tank, and our best chance at keeping you alive until help can get to you." Matty told her

"How far away is this help?" Mac asked her

"A Coast Guard icebreaker is steaming toward them, but it's 12 hours out."

"What about aircraft?" I asked

"It's negative 54 degrees." Cage told me

"Negative 56 now, actually." Zoe adds

"So too cold for planes and helicopters." Cage says

"Damn it." I mumbled under my breath

"Okay. First step is gonna be keeping everyone on board warm." Mac pointed out

"The propulsion room housed the two main generators. Both were taken out during the explosion." Riley told him

"And for some reason I can't get the backup genny to start." Zoe adds

"Okay, Zoe, first thing I'm gonna need you to do is to use the camera on your laptop to show me the backup generator." He told her

"Okay."

"We're gonna be doing this a lot, so got to make sure you don't run out of battery. But I'll whip up something after we diagnose the genny's problem." He says and we see the generator, "And it looks like it's right there. Okay. Now, Zoe, what I need you to do is make me a list of everything on board that you can get your hands on so that's gonna be supplies, uh, equipment, provisions, toiletries, everything And be precise. Six packets of ketchup is not seven. Does that make sense?" He asked her

"Yeah. Sure, I-I can do that. But why?"

"Because this is the stuff we're gonna use to save your life." He told her

* * *

"Life jacket." Riley says as Jill dumped the stuff on the table

"Check." I tell her

"Plastic beaker."

"Check." I said

"Coffee mug."

"Check."

"Ooh. Uh, Zoe said she had a tin coffee mug on the ship, and this one is ceramic." Mac says to Jill handing it back to her

"And everything we have here needs to be identical to what she's got on board. Got it."

"If you go to Bozer's lab and go in the middle drawer on the right side of his desk there's one in there." I tell her and they all looked at me, "It was part of a prank." I tell them and they smiled

"Okay, Zoe, it looks like your generator problem is actually a fuel pump problem, so what we're gonna do is make you a peristaltic pump to manually feed fuel to the generator. First thing you're gonna want to do is to detach the two wheels from the carry-on you have there, and then you're gonna..."

"Mac." I said cutting him off and nodded to the screen

"Zoe, I'm so sorry. I'm going way too fast, aren't I?"

"No. No, no, no. It's okay. Um, I can keep up. I just, um, I know we're running out of time. So.."

"Guys, can I have a second?" Mac asked us and we all nodded then walked out of the room with Matty closing the door

 **Mac POV...**

"How we doing, Zoe?" I asked her

"Uh not great. I mean, I-I-I'm having trouble focusing. And, uh, my hands are so cold."

"Plus, you're probably overwhelmed, exhausted and terrified. And I only say so because I know that I would be." I tell her

"Yeah, that just about sums it up."

"All right. All right, then. Let's take a break." I said

"What? Uh..do we have the time?"

"Zoe, don't worry about the time. If you're gonna be my hands on that ship, we both need your hands to be steady. So, how about we just talk for a second? What do you teach?" I asked her

"I'm a...I'm a glaciologist. It's boring, I know."

"Well, maybe to most people, but you are also talking to a guy who once broke into a lab at MIT to sneak a peek at a frozen ice core from Greenland." I tell her

"Really?" She asked me

"Yeah."

"How old was it?" She asked

"They claimed 500,000 years, but I was not convinced."

"Wow. It's not often I meet someone who can out-geek me." She says

"Well, Zoe, I out-geek pretty much everyone. Including my girlfriend."

"Hey, can I tell you something stupid?" She asks

"I mean, I did just tell you about the time that I snuck into a lab to ogle an icicle, so shoot."

"I'm seriously craving ice cream right now." She said and I smiled

"Ice cream is good. Why is that weird?"

"You know what? All right. I am ready to build this pump." She tells me

"Yeah?"

"What is step one again?" She asked

"Removing the two wheels from your carry-on luggage you have there and I see on the manifest that you do have a tool kit, so you'll need a Phillips head screwdriver."

"Got one of those right here." She tells me and held up a pocket knife then I held mine up

"Nice."

"These things come in handy, don't they?" She asked and I chuckled

"Zoe you have no idea."

 **Val POV..**

"Is he really going to be able to save this ship?" Cage asked Matty as we watched Mac

"There's no one I trust more."

"Save your screws. You, uh, never really know when you're gonna need them." We hear him tell her and I watched him

"So.." Matty says and faced me, "Girlfriend?" She asked and I looked at Riley and Cage who were trying not to smile.

"Umm..yeah." I replied avoiding eye contact with her, "We tried to find a time when we could tell you, you know when the whole world's not in danger." I said and she walked up to me

"Val," Matty says and I looked at her, "I don't care," She said and I looked at her confused, "I knew it was gonna happen eventually. Just don't let it effect your job." She tells me and I nodded my head.

* * *

"Now, bend the generator's fuel line into a U-shape around the wheel and axle assembly." Mac told Zoe mimicking what she was doing

"Okay. Done. How's this look?"

"Yeah, that's perfect. You just built yourself a peristaltic pump. Now, running the drill should push diesel along the fuel line and into the generator just like the fuel pump should have." He says and turned it on, "Just like that."

"Wow. Here's to hoping mine does that, too." She said and did the same thing, "Oh, my God. It worked. It worked. We did it. Oh, my gosh. I can already feel the heat coming on."

"Now that you got the power on I can see you a little better."

"Hey, Mac." She says then we hear an alarm

"Is that the fire alarm?" I asked and Riley moved to her computer

"Go check on the other students. Can someone go in the control room and see where the fire is?" Zoe asked into her radio

 _"I'm in the control room. The computer's showing fires in the bow thruster room, the galley and the science lab."_

"Maybe it's just an error. I'll go check the thruster room." Zoe says

"These rooms are right above the propulsion room where the explosion happened." Riley told us

"Heat from the blast could've melted the insulation on the wiring behind the walls." Mac pointed out

"Turning the power back on shorted them out and lit the fires." I added

"Okay, uh, not a false alarm. Real fires. Very real and our fire suppression system didn't come on." Zoe tells us and my heart sank

"Okay, so the ship must've sustained more damage than we thought. If we don't put those fires out now, the whole ship is gonna burn." Mac said

* * *

"We have enough extinguishers for the smaller fires, but the one in the bow thruster room," Zoe said and coughed, "it's getting out of control."

"Okay, that door right there. It's watertight, which means it's also airtight. If you can close it, then the fire should eat up all the oxygen and burn itself out. Be careful, though. It's gonna be very hot." Mac warned her and she took off one of her shirts and shut the door

"Okay. That seemed to have worked. And the other fires are going out, too, so," She stopped and coughed, "I think we're gonna be okay." She coughed again

"Most fire deaths aren't from burns, they're from smoke inhalation. So, without fresh air, everyone on board is still in danger, which means.." I started to say

"We're just gonna have to clean the air." Mac finished and went over to the board, "Cardboard boxes box fans carbon filters. I have an idea. This ship is transporting activated carbon filters, which they're gonna use to clean the water at the research station, but we're gonna re-purpose them and use them to make the air on board breathable. Zoe, can you get to the cargo room?" He asked her and she coughed

"The cargo hold is directly below the propulsion room. The initial reaction must've caused this damage. Mac, I can see the filters, but I can't get to them." She tells us and we look at the screen

"Uh, how far away are they?" Mac asked her

"15 feet, maybe 20."

"I need the exact distance. Riley, pull up schematics of that room." He told her then picked up a chair and threw it threw the window causing me to jump

"Mac." Matty says

"I need space so I can build the ship." He told her

* * *

"Forget that thing, Zoe." Mac told her walking back into the room and moved the shelves so he could get to the screen

"Why, you came up with something else?"

"I didn't, Jack did." He says and I looked at him confused

"He did?" Me, Cage and Matty asked at the same time

"Yeah. Okay, in order to get those filters, we're gonna use the force, the force of gravity. So I need you and the students to grab everything that you can, and move it to the stern of the ship." He told her

"Okay."

* * *

"Someone help me move this thing?" I hear someone ask as the students moved everything

"Is this really gonna work?" Matty asked Mac

"Uh, yeah, it should. We just need enough ballast in the stern to raise the bow five degrees. And if we do that, the filters should fall off the shelf and roll right down the hall to Zoe."

"Okay, Mac, everything that can be moved has been." Zoe told him

"Okay, the rest is up to gravity."

"It's working. Tilting. Come on, come on. Yes. We got it." She says and I sighed in relief, "Now what?"

"Uh, now we build you an air filter."

"Please hurry, Mac. It's really hard to breathe." She told him

"I know, but we're gonna change that. Now, let's get to work."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Hey, your air purifier is still working perfectly, and all 31 students are accounted for. Thanks for, uh, keeping me company. I really appreciate it." Zoe tells me as I paced while playing with a paper clip

"Of course. And the Coast Guard rescue ship is only three hours away, so nothing left to do now but wait."

"Hey, what are you playing with over there?" She asked me

"It's an old habit. One my boss banned, but you had paper clips on the ship, so.." I tell her holding it up and it was in the shape of a ship, "Just something to keep my hands busy."

"And clear your head? Uh you know when the Coast Guard told me that they were patching me through to an engineer, the last thing I expected was a cute science geek who would save my life with random objects." She tells me and I smiled

"I'm halfway a world away. You saved your own life."

"And sorry. I said cute and you have a girlfriend so.."

"Eh don't worry about it. If she was in here she would probably agree with you." I said with a chuckle

"Uh, so, the Phoenix Foundation. What's that all about?"

"Uh, well, we are a think tank and we specialize in unconventional solutions to unconventional problems. And after what I've seen today, you'd fit right in here." I tell her

"Oh, yeah? Don't tease. This geeky grad student is buried under a mountain of debt and could use a job, preferably one on dry land."

"Drop by when you get back to the States. I'll show you around. Me and Val could take you out for that ice cream." I say to her

"Yeah, I'm gonna take you up on that." She says and I hear metal whining and groaning, "Uh, MacGyver, did you hear that?" She asked me and I listened some more

"What is that?" I asked myself

"Oh, my God." She says and turned the computer around showing me the wall of the ship, "The hull is being crushed inward. There's water coming in." She said and moved to the door, "Something's wrong with the door."

"Can you show me?" I asked her then I looked at it

"The compression gasket's torn, so even if you close it, it's not gonna be watertight. We got to find a way to seal it now."

"Okay, how?" She asked me

"I don't know just yet, but it's gonna be all right."

* * *

"Uh, can you help me?" Zoe asked a student while we both mixed our ingredients, "Okay, we've mixed the resin. It's thick, like Play-Doh."

"That's perfect. Now spread it around the door's inner edge. It's safe to use your fingers. Just make sure you get it all the way around the door jamb."

"Are you sure it's gonna be thick enough to completely seal the door?" She asked me

"Yeah, it'll expand when you add heat."

"Uh, Mac, I think you need to see this." Riley tells me and I walked over, "According to this model, even if we seal that door, once the backup generator room floods, the ship will have taken on too much water. It's still gonna sink."

"How much time do they have?" I asked her

"From the moment it fills...45 minutes, tops."

"Okay. Add the roughly ten minutes it'll take for the room to flood, plus the two to three minutes the students will have before hypothermia hits.." I said

"Which gives them about an hour before that ship absolutely needs to be there." Val added

"Where's the icebreaker now? What's the time to intercept?" Matty asked

"59 minutes, with some margin of error." Cage says

"Uh Okay. Putty's in place. What's next?" Zoe asked me

"The last step I'm gonna show you how to make this detonator so you can trigger the reaction remotely."

"Got it. Okay. Okay, hope this works. Three, two, one." Zoe counted and we both hit our detonators and my putty thickened up, "Mac, nothing's happening." She tells me and I looked at the screen, "Mine's not working."

"Okay, check the connections on the remote and the detonator itself." I tell her

"I-I don't know. Everything's connected properly."

"Zoe, just breathe, I'm gonna walk you through the build again, all right?" I asked her trying to calm her down

"Oh, my God, the hole's getting bigger there's water everywhere. There's no way to stop it!" Zoe says and I mute the mic

"She's right."

* * *

"There's gotta be something I can use to trigger this reaction remotely." I said looking through the bags and supplies, "What if we...This is...Damn it, we've used everything." I said frustrated and angry

"Wait. We haven't used everything." Zoe says

"What do you mean? What haven't we used?" I asked her

"Me. We haven't used me. I can seal the door from the inside." She says and I looked at Val, who closed her eyes putting her hands to her face.

* * *

"Zoe, help is only 30 minutes away. We can put you guys in the lifeboats earlier, we whip something up to keep you guys warm." I begged her

"No. Going out there even a minute early would risk the lives of my kids, and I won't do that, not when this is a sure thing."

"There has to be another way. There's always another way." I tell her

"Mac"

"Something I overlooked." I said

"Wait, Mac. If I don't seal this door right now, the whole ship will sink before the Coast Guard gets here. You did the math yourself. There's only one number that matters anymore, okay? 31. That's how many lives are outside this room." She says to me

"No, I can't let you do this, Zoe."

"Then come and stop me, MacGyver. You know how I know this is right? Because, uh even though I don't really know you, I feel like this is what you would do if you were here." She said and she was right, "So, uh you just said it needs heat to react, so if I light the resin directly, it'll burn, right?" She asked me

"Yeah."

"Can we do this together?" She asked holding up a match then exhaled and we light our matches, "Okay. Hope this works."

"It will." I tell her and she lights the resin causing it to expand

"Uh, the water's rising really fast now." Zoe says and I feel Val's hand on my arm as she walked out with the others, "Oh, God. It's, um, colder than I thought it would be. Colder than I thought, uh anything would be, but, uh So this is what you do at the Phoenix Foundation? Save lives every day?" She asked me

"We try."

"You did that, okay? So don't forget that. You did everything you could, and so many parents are gonna be so grateful." She told me

"You did this, Zoe. I just talked to you."

"Uh h-hey, Mac? Yeah? I wish we could have met in person." She says

"Me, too."

"I w..I would've liked to meet your girlfriend, see your think tank. I'd like to have that ice cream." She tells me

"Hey, you never told me. What's your favorite flavor?" I asked her

"Rocky road."

"That's mine, too." I said with a sad smile

"I know a great place. You would love it." She says and I went to answer her but the feed cut out as the water got to her laptop and I stood there hanging my head. I could have done something.

* * *

"I thought you'd want to know. The Coast Guard reached the ship. Rescued all 31 people on board." I hear Val tell me as I stood there watching the city

"Should have been 32." I said and I hear her start to walk away

"Val," I said facing her and she looked at me, I reached my hand out for her which she grabbed and walked over to me then I wrapped my arms around her, "I just want to hold you for a moment." I tell her and she nodded her head against my shoulder then we just stood there in silence. I was thankful that I had her right now, because I don't think I could do this without her, "Would you stay with me tonight?" I asked her

"Are you sure?" She asked looking at me

"I'm sure."

"Yeah, I'll stay." She says and I kissed her head and she put it back to my shoulder


	11. Chapter 11

**You can run, but you can't hide**

 **A/N: Once again a big thank you to Court for the nice reviews! You should make an account on here. I hope you like that I have them together now :)**

"I'm just saying." Mac tells Jack from behind me on his deck around the fire

"Why do you do this every year, dude?"

"Prove he's not real." Mac says and Cage walked out with a tray full of cups

"Santa is not real, okay? You nerd. And please, spare me your math that claims to support his existence. It's annoying." Jack told him and Cage handed me a cup

"Thank you." I tell her and she sat down

"You're not a grown man who believes in Santa, are you?" She asked Mac

"I'm a grown man who cannot rule out the existence of Santa. Two different things. 'Cause if you think about it the rotation of the Earth, different time zones, and the latest research into Einstein-Rosen bridges..."

"You've been on this Santa kick forever." Jack pointed out

"When I found out that Jack didn't believe in Santa, I derived some equations to help change his mind, but the math only confused him more." Mac explained

"Okay, so you know what this doofus does, huh? He breaks into my apartment dressed as Big Red, sets up a tree, and crams a bunch of gifts underneath there." Jack mentioned

"Yeah, but he caught me before I could finish."

"Well, be honest, Jack. Did you think it was Santa? Even for a moment?" I asked him

"If he took a year and went on a juice cleanse, yeah." He answered and I laughed

"I had a pillow under my coat." Mac said

"You looked pregnant."

"So it didn't, it didn't really work?" Cage asked

"No, man, I thought he was an intruder." Jack tells me and her

"He almost shot me."

"Yeah, you're lucky you didn't get shot, okay? Now, listen, even if the Red Reindeer Rancher is real, breaking and entering is still a felony. In some progun states, it's best just to leave those gifts right there on the front porch. Know what I'm saying?" Jack asked

"What about you?" Mac asked Cage

"Oh, like, do I believe in Santa?"

"Yeah."

"I have yet to see proof, but I keep an open mind." She says

"Come on. Okay Val?" Jack asked me

"Oh I totally believe he's real." I said and Jack groaned

"Come on are you just sayin' that because your dating this nerd?" Jack asked and I look back at Mac and smiled then looked at Jack

"That has nothing to do with my beliefs." I tell him and Mac kissed my temple then my phone chimed. I read the message and sighed then set it down

"What's up?" Mac asked me and I glanced at him

"Oh um, I asked for permission to take Cassian to see Santa but umm..Matty denied it, said it was to risky." I tell him and looked at the fire

"I'm sorry." He says

"It's ok. I just...I wanted him to experience that and get out for a day but I understand why Matty said no. It is to risky." I said and Mac pulled me to him

"You guys hungry?" Riley asked us as her and Bozer walked out

"Ah, yeah, bring on the eats." Jack replied

"This is so lovely, guys. I haven't been home to see my sister in years, so this is my first Christmas in a long time with, um.." Cage started to say

"Family?" Jack asked her, "Go ahead. You can say it. If you don't, they're gonna make you. They made me. That's what we are, after all, as crazy as it sounds." He says and I nodded

"I will drink to that." Mac said raising his glass

"I will, too." Jack added and we all picked up our glasses

"Cheers, guys." I say and we al clinked our glasses then I looked at Mac and he gave me a quick kiss then the door opened and Matty walked out

"Hey, there she is." Riley says and Matty sighed

"What's wrong, boss?" I asked her

"I'm sorry, guys, but Christmas is on hold."

"What? Why?" Bozer asked

"Because we have a problem."

"What kind of problem?" Mac asked her

"Murdoc?" I asked as well and she shook her head

"N, not that, he's still in the wind," She told me and I nodded, "You know that bomb that you built last week?" She asked Mac

"Which one? The one he exploded in Angola when our cover got blown or the one in L.A. when we, uh, went with the bad intel?" Jack asked her

"Los Angeles. It appears that our intel was even more incomplete than we realized. That building wasn't empty." She tells us and I sat up, "The maintenance man, a civilian named George Ramsey, died when a section of the wall collapsed on him."

"I'm sorry. Are you saying that I killed a civilian?" Mac asked and I held his hand

"No, no, wait a minute. Val and I cleared that building, it was empty. Don't start playing the blame game..." Jack started to say

"The game's already started, Jack. The LAPD has a warrant for your arrest, Mac. They're on their way here now." She tells us and I feel my heart sink and Mac squeezed my hand

"What? No, this is crazy." Riley pointed out

"So how do we get Mac out of this?" Bozer asked Matty

"I don't know."

"You don't know? Well, guess what, that's not good enough." Jack told her

"I assure you, Jack, that calls will be made. But right now, this is happening. And we all need to maintain our covers."

"Don't-don't-don't worry, Mac, we'll get you out of this. You hear me? I promise." Jack says to him and Mac took his hand away and put it on my back and I looked at him then the doorbell rang.

* * *

"Angus MacGyver?" Someone asked as Mac opened the door

"Yes."

"You're under arrest for the murder of George Ramsey." The guy told him and another one walked in and handcuffed Mac and he looked at me as we all stood there watching and I feel Jack out his hand on my shoulder, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you by the court."

* * *

"Mac can't say anything. Okay, no matter what the cops throw at him, he cannot reveal that he's a covert agent working for the U.S. government. Murder charges are bad, but violating the Espionage Act? Way worse." Matty tells us walking into the war room back at Phoenix

"I covered all of our digital tracks and scrubbed all the cameras. What evidence could they possibly have?" Riley asked

"You tell me. You're the tech nerd in this mod squad. Can't you use that thing to crack LAPD's system? At least find out what they have on our boy?" Jack asked her

"What do you think I'm trying to do, Jack?"

"Well, what's taking you so long? You cracked the damn NSA quicker than this." He told her

"Yeah, the NSA was one system, and it was up to date. The LAPD is at least 20 different systems, and some of them are ancient. I'm trying to teach myself Fortran. If you knew what that was, you'd be as frustrated as I am."

"Okay, look. We know that whatever the cops have on Mac, it was enough for them to find him and arrest him. We need to go back..." Matty began to say

"What we need to do is go in there and get him right now, forcibly, if need be. He did the same thing for me two weeks ago. I owe him one." Jack said cutting her off

"Yeah, Jack, he did in Yemen, after you were arrested under a cover ID. Mac was arrested under his own name at his own house." I tell him

"Whatever. Riley, crack the LAPD network and at least see what evidence they got against Mac and just erase it! Right now, just do it." Jack says to her

"Erasing all the evidence is not gonna make this go away. They're gonna wonder how this happened."

"Oh, come on, y'all. Seriously? Do you know how many rescue operations we've planned in this very room? This is Mac we're talking about here. Busting him out's gonna be no different than any other mission." Jack pointed out to us

"Except it is different, Jack." Matty told him

"How?!"

"Because there's no exfil at the end of this. Okay? We can't just break Mac out and walk away." She says

"And the LAPD is not the enemy. They're just doing their job." Cage added

"Yeah, and so was he, Cage. Just doing his job. And listen, everyone single one of us got him in this hot spot, and we're gonna get him out. Now, Riley, pretty please with sugar on top, will you work faster?" He asked her and she nodded, "Matty, with all due respect, go work the phones. Please."

"Okay." She says and walked out then he faced the screens

"Can somebody help me bring up the action reports on this thing? Or I'm gonna rip it right off the wall right now. Please." He said and I walked over and brought them up, "How can you not want to go in there and bust him out?" He asked me

"Because, it's not the right way to do things Jack, yes it sucks but we need to just use our brains and think like him in order to help him." I tell him and put my hand on his shoulder then walked away.

* * *

"I'm telling you guys, Val and I swept this building from top to bottom before Mac detonated that bomb. The place was empty. I swear." Jack tells us

"We heard you the first time, Jack, but the fact remains, it's a big building. Maybe you two missed someone." Bozer says to us

"Well, even if we did, Ri, you would've had them on thermal, right?" Jack asked her

"I wasn't using thermal." She told him and he gave her a look, "We didn't know we were gonna have to do any of this, remember?"

"Wh-What I remember is Mac didn't kill anybody. So, there's a good explanation for how this guy died, period." Jack says

"Look, I wasn't there, so I can be fresh eyes," Cage pointed out, "You want to just walk me through everything that happened, starting with when you first got the call for the mission? Where was Mac?" She asked

"With me. We were in the lab." Bozer told her

 **Bozer POV...**

"I see fear in your eyes. Don't worry. This will be over soon." I tell Mac as we looked at each other

"Oh, I'm scared..for you. I know how much you hate to lose, so.."

"Said Venus right before Serena beat her, like, a dozen times." I said

"You wish you were Serena."

"I've won every game today. I am the Serena Williams...of ping-pong." I tell him and served the ball

"Curious. Normally, MacGyver applies backspin to his shots to ensure victory," I hear Sparky mention, "But not today. Is an injury the reason you're not playing at full capacity?" He asked Mac who glared at him, "Apologies." Sparky said and the ball goes past me and I look at Mac

"Brah."

"What?" He asked

"Have you been letting me win?"

"Of course not." He told me and I saw him look at Sparky then back at me, "All right, yes. A little bit, but only 'cause I was trying to cheer you up after Leanna." He told me

"Is this why you been insisting we hang out every night?"

"Look, I've been at this spy thing a long time. After you lose someone, distractions can be a great thing." He says

"Yeah, okay, but bowling, putt-putt, horror movie marathons? I mean, come on, y-you didn't have to do all that."

"Points on your bro game, MacGyver." Sparky tells him

"Shut up, Sparky." I said and turned him off

"Hey, man, just trying to be there for you. You go to spy school, you meet the girl of your dreams and then you have to say good-bye to serve your country. That can't be easy."

"Yeah. It's been, uh it's been rough." I lied and his phone chimed, "Let me guess. Matty, War Room, now."

"Add a few more exclamation points and you hit the nail on the head." He says and we walked out of the lab

* * *

 **Val POV (Flashback)...**

"That is a G36 assault rifle. German-made, highly lethal. The CIA is tracking a shipment of these that were stolen from a plant in Berlin last week." Matty tells us

"Oh, yeah, I know this gun." Jack says standing up and walking over to the screen, "The firing rate on this bad boy is incredible. There's-there's hardly any recoil. It's made of fiberglass, reinforced plastic. It's light, strong. Extremely deadly. She's a growler."

"Do you need a moment alone with the video, Dalton?" Matty asked him and he looked at all of us

"Mm-mm."

"Can I continue?" She asked

"Yeah, go ahead."

"Can you move?" She asks and he moved back over to the chair, "We just received intel that the shipment is gonna be sold on the black market, right here in our very own backyard."

"I'm still trying to ID the seller, but we do know the weapons are being held in a warehouse outside of L.A." RIley added

"And since these guns are on U.S. soil, the CIA can't legally retrieve them." Bozer says

"Which is why they've come to us." Mac adds

"Exactly. We believe that the sale is going down within the next 48 hours. Our mission is to recover the guns before the deal goes down and these weapons hit the streets, aimed at civilians and law enforcement." Matty told us

* * *

 **Now...**

"If I sound hoarse, it's because I just finished yelling at the CIA." Matty told us walking into the room, "Officially, they won't accept any connection to this op."

"Okay, then fun and games are over. It's time for Oversight to bring in the sun-glass squad. You know, the ones with a get-out-of-jail-free- 'cause-I'm-a-secret-agent card? Those guys." Jack says

"I already asked, Jack, and the answer is no. These are the risks that we take when we choose to operate on U.S. soil. And if the charges stick and Mac goes to jail, we have to let him." Matty tells us and I sighed closing my eyes

"Let him?! Go to jail?!" Jack asked out of anger

"How can this be happening? The LAPD can't possibly have enough to charge him with murder." Riley pointed out

* * *

"What do you mean, Mac doesn't get a phone call? The suspect always gets a phone call." Bozer pointed out

"I know, right?" Jack agreed

"No, not right. Not when the charge is domestic terrorism. The Patriot Act allows law enforcement to suspend the rights of suspected terrorists indefinitely." I tell them

"And it sounds like they have enough to make these charges stick." Matty added

"Okay. So, now do I have your permission to go bust him out of there?" Jack asked her

"If you want Mac to spend the rest of his life on the run from the entire U.S. intelligence agency, then go for it. But if you want to clear him of these charges, we need to prove that he didn't kill George Ramsey."

"How? You just said the LAPD has all this evidence." Bozer says to her

"Maybe they're looking at it wrong. Maybe we can use the same evidence to clear his name once we get access to it." Cage pointed out

"I think she's talking to you, Riley. Let's go." Jack said and snapped his fingers at her

"Guys, I'm typing as fast as I can."

"Then type faster. Okay, the longer that we let Mac sit in there, the longer the cops have to fit the evidence to their story and paint Mac as a terrorist." Matty said

"Val, isn't there someone at Homeland you can talk to?" Jack asked me

"I thought of that already, but they wouldn't be able to do anything without me having to blow Mac's cover." I tell him and he sighed

* * *

"I am telling you the truth, Matty. We cleared that whole building before we found those rifles." Jack says putting his hand up to me, "That place was empty."

"Tell that to the dead guy they found in the rubble."

"Dead guy? What if the victim was already dead inside the building when Mac, Val and Jack got there?" Riley asked bringing up a good point

"Yeah. Yeah, that might explain why me and Val missed him." Jack mentioned

"It's a good theory, but we need proof." Bozer says

"Okay, let's go over every detail of what happened in that warehouse. Maybe we can find some." Matty adds

"Okay, let's start at the beginning. Where were you guys?" Cage asked us

"I was in the van, knocking out all the security cameras in the area." Riley told her

"I had eyes on the street, looking out for any surprise visitors." Bozer says

"Me, Val and Mac did a sweep of the warehouse exterior." Jack adds

* * *

 **Flashback...**

"I don't believe you." Jack says to Mac as we walk next to the warehouse

"Why would I lie about that?"

"Because, dude, you make up stuff all the time." Jack tells him

"Excuse me? Ten lords a-leaping. That's the tenth day of Christmas."

"Mm-mm, I doesn't sound right." Jack says

"Okay, sing it." I tell him

"On the first day of Christmas My true love gave to me, the dumbest song ever made. I'm not gonna sing it. It's stupid. You know what? Christmas was just made up by Mattel to sell Hot Wheels, anyway. Santa's just a bloated brand ambassador."

"Actually, "Christ's Mass" was first celebrated in Rome in 336, about a thousand years before Mattel started making Hot Wheels." Mac explained to him

"That-that proves two things: one, brainwashing works, and two, you make stuff up, dude. It do I-I don't care. Just let's get on with the B&E. Hurry up." Jack tells him and Mac began to work on the door while I stood there keeping watch, "Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge? That's a lot of birds, man. That's a disappointing first four days. If you're my true love, give me them five rings on the first day. I'll wear one, pawn the other four. Get the whole family whatever they want for Christmas."

"Are you still talking?" I asked Jack and Mac got the door opened then Jack and I went in first holding up our guns then Mac walked in and the door started to close

"Hey, whoa, whoa, wait, wait." Jack says and ran back to the door catching it with his foot, "Dude, what's the matter with you?" He asked Mac

"What? What are you doing?"

"I'm propping the door open." Jack said

"Why?" I asked him

"So we can sneak those guns out through the same entrance we came in, kiddo." He says to me and I rolled my eyes, "You're not the only one who can think up stuff on the fly, all right? I got a brain on me." He says to Mac walking past us

"All you did was grab a cinder block..." Mac started to say and looked at me, I shrugged as we kept walking, "You know what? Great job."

 **Now...**

"What did you see when you got in?" Cage asked Jack

"Nothing special. Just a regular old warehouse. Val and I swept the building, clearing it room by room while we searched for those guns."

"But then, new players entered the game." Riley adds

 **Flashback...**

 _"Guys, I got an 18-wheeler inbound, with an escort. Two sedans. They're still a ways out, but they're definitely headed our way."_ Riley told us

 _"It must be transport for the weapons. The deal we thought was happening in 48 hours? I think it's going down now."_ Bozer mentioned

 _"Mac, Jack, just grab the guns and get the hell out of there."_ Riley tells us

"Love to, Riley. Really would. Just one teensy little problem." Mac said

"Yeah, the deal isn't just sooner than we expected, it's bigger. Way bigger." Jack added and we look at all the crates that had our guns in them

"This is way more guns than we can just grab and go." I point out, "I don't suppose you can make a forklift out of any of this stuff laying around, could you?" I asked Mac and he chuckled then looked around

"You know what? I could build an explosive to melt these down, rendering them useless."

"Ooh. I love that idea." Jack tells him

"But the blast could damage the structural integrity of the building, bringing it down on us."

"I hate that idea." Jack said

"With the amount of time we have, I don't see any other option."

"All right, well, you do your thing, kid. Me and Val will see if we can buy us some time, yeah?" He says to him and we separated

 **Now...**

"So Val and I went to barricade the door with the cinder block, you know, to try slow those bad guys down while Mac cooked up the boom-boom sauce." Jack explained

"What did you do after you barricaded the door?" Cage asked

"Well, yeah, that's that's the thing. When we got there, the door was closed. Somebody must've moved the cinder block." Jack says and I think back and remember it not being where he put it

"Why didn't both of you mention this before?" Cage asked us

"I don't know, Cage, it didn't really register. We were trying to keep those guys at bay. I was planning on passing out a lot of knuckle sandwiches." Jack defended

"Cinder blocks don't just move by themselves, Jack." Matty tells him

"I know."

"Someone must've entered the warehouse after you did." She adds

"Someone like George Ramsey." Cage pointed out

"Or whoever killed him." I add

"Well, we need to find out. Riley, how's it coming with the LAPD hack?" Matty asked her

"Yep, hang on. Finally found the right computer. Just need to find his case file, and..." Riley said and put the image up on the screen

"That's him? That's the victim? That's George Ramsey?" Bozer asked

"Yeah. Why?" Riley asked him

"I've seen that guy before."

"Where?' Matty asked

 **Bozer POV (Flashback)...**

"I'll help you, Jack. Headed to the back door now." I tell him in as I backed up and when I turned around a guy on a motorcycle almost ran me over and I looked at him

 **Val's POV (Now)...**

"But if George Ramsey was driving away when the building came down, then...then Mac didn't kill him." Riley says

"Means someone else did, and they got his body and put it in the warehouse." I added

"But who? And why?" Matty asked

"Well, that's what we're gonna figure out. That's how we're gonna save Mac." Jack says

* * *

 _"Webber. Dalton here. Hey, our boy figured it out. He confirmed he didn't do it."_ Jack tells her

"Okay, but Mac can't exactly serve as an expert witness at his own trial. In order to clear him, we have to find the real killer."

 _"Yeah, well, how are we supposed to do that? It's not like we have a ton of leads."_ Jack says

 _"Actually, I might have one."_ Mac tells us, _"All right, I-I never really know if I'm gonna find what I need to make well, whatever it is I need. But this time, I got lucky. Too lucky. Matches and aluminum foil are everywhere. But sodium hydroxide? Doesn't exactly grow on trees."_

 _"Neither does tin foil. N-Not to nitpick, but that doesn't grow on trees."_ Jack said

 _"I was in a hurry, calculating exothermic reaction rates in my head, so I didn't really think about it at the time. But along with sodium hydroxide, I also found cold medicine and nail polish remover, which can only mean one thing."_ Mac mentioned and it came to me

 _"You know, Mac, as much as I love it when you launch into a lecture I barely understand, but we're kind of on the clock here, so what's the point?"_ Jack asked him

"Methamphetamine, Jack." I tell him and everyone looked at me, "Nail polish remover, cold medicine and sodium hydroxide are all key ingredients in the synthesis of meth." I explained

 _"Bingo"_ Mac says and I smiled

 _"Wait a minute, now. What you're saying is, our bad ass group of international arms dealers is really a not so bad ass group of low-rent methamphetamine dealers?"_ Jack asked

"No. Not low-rent. Not anymore. The meth business in the U.S. has changed. A recent run of DEA busts left a manufacturing hole that the La Ola Cartel stepped in to fill." I tell him

 _"It's weird that you know that."_ Jack mentioned and I gave a light laugh

"When I first dug into the warehouse, I hit a nest of shell companies, which led me to warehouse owner H. Ruiz. But searching just "H. Ruiz" turned up over 20,000 hits. Now that I know those shells are tied a Mexican drug cartel, I can search H. Ruiz in the DEA database, and.." Riley tells us and an image pulled up on screen, "here's Hector Ruiz. A lieutenant in La Ola, and owner of the warehouse in question.

"If the cartel owned the warehouse, then George Ramsey worked for them." Cage pointed out

"And maybe he was more than just a maintenance man. Maybe he kept an eye on all of their contraband." Bozer added

"But when we broke in.."

 _"He knew he was outnumbered, so instead of protect the stash, he bugged out on his bike."_ Jack says finishing for Riley

"Almost running me over in the process." Bozer says

"So the cartel killed him as punishment for fleeing, and then dumped his body in the rubble." I pointed out

 _"Oh, hell, yeah."_ Jack sighed

 _"What?"_ Mac asked him

 _"Oh, this is all starting to make sense. Now all we need is proof to convince Joe Thursday out there. Hey, I tell you what. Matty, I'm gonna come back to the Phoenix, then you, me and Val are gonna go have a heart-to-heart with this Hector Ruiz fella, yeah?"_ Jack asked

"Good idea, Jack."

 _"All right."_ Jack said and hung up

* * *

We get to Hector's house and start searching it room by room, "Clear. Clear." I hear JAck say

"Clear!" I yelled to him and checked another room

"Hector's not home, boss." Jack told her when we walked back over to them

"Toss this place. I want to know where this guy is right now."

* * *

"Okay. I got some kind of weird printer here." Bozer tells us as we searched the garage

"That's an ID card printer." Riley told him, "With the right software, you can make a.." She say sand stopped, "Uh-oh."

"What is it?" I asked her

"Guy made himself a fake police ID."

"We need to get to Mac." Bozer said

"We can't do that without breaking cover." I pointed out

"I don't care. Mac's life is more important. Jack, Val go save our boy." Matty tells us

"Yes, ma'am." Jack said and we left

* * *

"We're charging Ruiz with the murder of George Ramsey and three FBI agents. And we got an anonymous e-mail, detailing both the cartel's methamphetamine and arms dealing operations. Which suggests the blast that brought down their warehouse was just another meth lab explosion." The one detective tells us

"And as for you," The other said to Jack, "We could charge you with impersonating an officer of the court and obstruction of justice."

"Who, me?"

"But we're gonna give you a warning instead." He tells Jack

"You're free to go." The other one tells us

"That is a Christmas miracle." Jack says and I smiled

"One last question, though," The detective says to us

"Yep."

"What is it you do, exactly?" He asked

"I sell bathroom tile." Jack told him and I roll my eyes

"I work at a think tank." Mac and I say at the same time

"Merry Christmas, Mr. MacGyver." The detective tells him

"Merry Christmas, Detective Greer. Turner."

* * *

"Hey." Mac said walking up to me as I leaned on the railing of his porch

"Hey yourself."

He put his hand on my face and pulled me into a kiss, "You okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because of what happened." He said and I wrapped my arms around his neck

"Eh, I think I've known you long enough to know that you would never do anything like that. I wasn't worried."

"Hmm so much faith." He tells me and I giggled then he kissed me again then pulled away and reached into his back pocket, "Merry Christmas."

"Mac," I said and grabbed it from him, "I thought I said no gifts."

"You did, but it's our first Christmas together and I wanted to get you something special." He tells me and I smiled then reached into my back pocket.

"Well it's a good thing I didn't listen to myself then." I say and hand him his present and he chuckled.

"Go ahead and open yours first." He told me and I unwrapped it revealing a box then opened that and saw a simple necklace with a purple jewel at the bottom.

"Mac..it's beautiful." I said pulling it out of the box

"No, the person wearing it is." He says and took it from me then turned me around putting it on my neck then I faced him, "Plus um..it has a tracking device in it." He tells me and I looked at him confused, "After what happened with the nerve gas thing and how we didn't know where you were I just..I don't that to happen again. Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad, I get it. Thank you, I really do love it. Now you." I tell him and he opened his pulling a pocket watch out of the box

"Wow...this is.."

"It's my grandfather's pocket watch." I said and he looked at me

"Val I can't..."

"No. Don't, it's fine. He gave me that when I left home and went to college, but I don't know a part of me feels like you should have it instead." I told and he smiled, "Just don't take it apart because then he'll kill you." I said and he laughed

"I won't, but it's great Val, I love it, and..I love you." He says and I looked at him shocked, "I know it's only been two months but I've felt it for some time now, and if you're not ready then..." He said but I cut him off by kissing him

"I love you too." I tell him and he pulled me to him, I wrapped my arms around him as he tightened his arms around me deepening the kiss.

* * *

 **Cage POV...**

I unlocked my front door then shut it setting my keys down and went over to my pantry grabbing out a tube of wrapping paper when I hear someone whistling, "Mac?" I asked but didn't get an answer, "Are you seriously trying to repeat what you did with Jack?" I asked walking back to my kitchen and saw someone standing by my tree, "Mac?" I asked and he walked into the light and I tensed up, "Murdoc."

"Ho ho ho." He says and I reached my hand back to grab a knife off my counter but he shot me twice in the stomach and I fall to the ground then he walked over and knelt down next to me, "Last time I shot you, you were wearing a vest." He tells me and touch my wound holding up his hand, "Not this time. I'll leave you to die now." He said standing up, "Oh and tell my dear Valarie Merry Christmas for me. I hope she enjoys her gift. Your dead body." He says and walked out and I rolled over slowly making my way to my counter and felt for my phone then it fell and I dialed it.

 **Mac POV...**

"Heard the good news about Hector." I said to Matty walking over to her from outside as Val went over to Bozer

"Only you can get arrested for murder and end up taking down a major cartel, Mac." She told me and I smiled, "I got you something." She pushed a wrapped gift towards me and I picked it up shaking it.

"What is it?" I asked

"Open it up."

I pulled the wrapping off, "Paper clips."

"Hey. I know that I put the kibosh on your sculptures when I took over, but, if they help you to think I think it's time to let MacGyver be MacGyver."

"You sure? With everything that just happened, I.." I stopped and looked at Val and Bozer as they laughed at the gift she gave him, "I don't know. I'm beginning to wonder if the way that I do things..."

"Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there. I know that I had my doubts about you at first. But you convinced me to ignore them. All of them. And I am so glad that you did. Because now, there's no one that I trust more than you, Mac." She tells me and I chuckled softly

"That kind of trust we should probably be honest with each other, right?" I asked her and she nodded, "Matty I was wondering if I could ask a favor."

"What's that?"

"I know you told Val that she couldn't bring Cassian to see Santa, but do you think there's something else we can arrange? I know it would mean a lot to him, and her." I tell her and looked back at Val

"I'll see what I can do." She says with a smile then Bozer and Val walked over

"Mac this gift wasn't under the tree yesterday and it's for you." He told me handing me it

"This is from my dad."

"How do you know?" Val asked me

"This wrapping paper, he used it on the last gift that he gave me. I just, I know. Um If you guys don't mind, I-I, uh I need to do this alone." I tell them and started to walk away then Val's phone rang.

"Cage?" She asked then paused and we all looked at her, "Cage?"


	12. Chapter 12

**You can run, but you can't hide**

We all sat in the waiting room of the hospital for hours while Cage was in surgery, I was looking out the window when I feel someone put their hand on my shoulder and I looked to see Riley standing there, I gave her a small smile then looked back out the window. At one point I sat down next to Mac and held his hand then he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"Which one of you is MacGyver?" The doctor asked us walking out of the OR doors and Mac stood up

"Yeah, that's me."

"She said she's sorry she spoiled your Christmas party." The doctor told us and we all sighed in relief then hugged each other, "And uh who's Val?" She asked and I looked at her

"I am."

"She wants to speak to you." The doctor said and I looked at Matty who nodded her head then I followed the doctor to Cage's room and she looked at me

"Hey," I tell her and sat down next to her on the bed, "Doing ok?"

"It still hurts but I'll be fine. Val, it was Murdoc." She told me and I feel my blood start to boil.

"What? He...He did this?" I asked her and she nodded, "That son of a bitch." I said standing up and began to pace, "He.." I stopped and put my hands on my face

"He told me to say 'Merry Christmas' and that he hopes you enjoyed his present."

"What present?" I asked her

"My dead body." She said and my blood boiled even more and I walked over to her and carefully bent down to hug her

"I am so sorry Cage."

"Don't, it's not your fault." She tried to tell me

"But I.."

"Don't," She cut me off, "It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself." She says and I sighed nodding my head

"Ok. I'll um let you get some rest. I'll come by later ok?" I asked her and she smiled then I walked out of the room and out of the OR back to the others.

"What did she want?" Mac asked me and I looked at them

"It was Murdoc." I said and everyone shared a look then Mac walked over to me pulling me into a hug. I want him dead, and I want to be the one to do it.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"I told you Cage would pull through, man. She's a fighter." Jack told me on the way back to my house

"Yeah, she sure is. It's a good thing, too, 'cause she's got a long, tough rehab ahead of her. I want Murdoc in cuffs by the time she's out, too, not just for her but for Val too."

"Ah, don't worry. We're gonna make him pay, that's for sure. But before we dive into that obsessive search, I think we should take a minute to talk about our other obsessive search, don't you?" Jack asked me and handed me something

"My dad's Christmas gift? Why did you bring this to the hospital?" I asked him as I opened it up revealing a file in another language with a photo on the front.

"Hey, man, I know how you are when you get upset. Your brain needs something to chew on, and I couldn't find a Rubik's Cube. Besides, as far as Christmas gifts go, that one takes the blue ribbon for being super weird, man. My curiosity is killing me."

"Yeah, well, that makes two of us." I said and started to flip through the file

"I mean, who sticks an old World War II German dossier under the cedar, man?"

"I don't know. Everything's a puzzle when it comes to my father. Always has been." I tell him

"Don't worry. We're gonna figure this out. I promise you."

* * *

"Man, I'm getting hungry. Let's order a pizza or something." Jack said as we walked through my front door but then an odor hit us, "Whoa. What is that smell? Did you leave something on?" Jack asked

"It's a chemical." I point out and the front door shut then I hear a high-pitched trilling sound

"Huh? Well, let's at least open a window, get some air in here or something." Jack says walking away and I hear footsteps walking up to the door

"Bozer?" I asked

"Yeah, man, it's me. Just dropped Riley off, so I thought we could..." He started to say but I looked around at my walls

"No. Jack, do not touch that window! Bozer, get away from the door now!" I said and locked the door

"Dude, are you okay?" Jack asked me

"Mac, what the hell? Why can't I come in?" Bozer asked

"Because I'm pretty sure every door and window in this house has been wired to explode." I told them looking at a patched panel on the wall by the door then walked towards the kitchen

"Explode? Come on. I think you're freaking out a little bit." Jack says

"Did you say "explode"?" Bozer asked me

"See that patched section of drywall?" I asked Jack pointing to the wall by the sink

"Not really."

"It's easy to miss. It's been patched and painted to blend in. There's another one right there." I pointed to the other wall

"Hey, yeah, I see it. If that is what it is, it looks like there's been patchwork done all over the place. You really think someone snuck into your home and rigged this entire place to explode?" Jack asked me and I looked over at the picture on the wall across from me seeing a little camera in it

"No, not someone. The Ghost."

"The Ghost? That same lunatic bomb maker from the sandbox?" Jack asked

"Yes."

"The one who tried to turn me into pizza slices in NYC?" He asks

"That one."

"I'm not a fan." Jack says

"Yeah, well, he's back, and he just turned my entire house into one of his bombs."

* * *

 **Flashback...Pre Bromance**

I get pushed to the ground and turned to look at the guy I was fighting, he punched my face then grabbed me and threw me backwards then lifted me up by my shirt and punched me again. He went to punch me again but I blocked it then he got another swing in, but I got up and grabbed around his neck above him then he punched me in the gut then flipped me over elbowing me and I kneed him in the face getting up but then he grabbed me from behind. I elbowed him in the gut then used the bunk next to me and lifted myself around him then threw him to the ground and we rolled then I held him in a choke hold, "Tap out, man. You're done." I tell him

"No way, Houdini. I'm breaking this arm."

"Attention!" We hear our Sergent yell, "On your feet. Both you idiots. Get up!" He ordered and we got up then stood at attention, "What the hell is going on in here?"

"Sir, I caught this boot messing with my gear, sir." The guy told him

"Sir, I wasn't messing with anything. Someone knocked his bolt carrier off of his bunk. I picked it up, noticed it was lacking forward assist, wanted to fabricate a spring to.." I started to explain

"You trained on that rifle, son?" The Sergent asked me

"No, sir. No, I'm not."

"Excuse me, sir. But I am trained on that rifle and I can assure you that I forward assist my own bolt carrier just fine, sir. Even if I didn't, even if there was a problem, which there's not, I don't see how he's gonna do anything about it. He's no sniper, sir." THe other guy told him

"Don't need to be a sniper to understand basic engineering." I said to him

"Basic what?"

"Shut up. Both of you. If it were up to me, I'd ship you both out. Make you somebody else's problem. But orders are orders. Sergeant Jack Dalton, meet Specialist Angus MacGyver. Your new EOD tech." The Sergent told us

"What?" I groaned

"Dalton's your new over-watch."

"You can't be serious." Dalton says to him

"Find a way to work together or I'll find a way to get rid of you."

"Yes, sir." Dalton tells him

"Yes, sir." I said as well and he left

"Angus MacGyver"? What kind of name is that? Sounds like a new burger at Carl's Jr., don't it, boys?" He asked and they all laughed, "Pretty embarrassing."

"A guy named after a hamburger just pinned your ass in front of your buddies, though, isn't it?" I asked him

"No, man, you didn't pin anybody. I was about to break your skinny little arm, MacGyver. Yeah, I've heard people talk about you. You're supposed to be some bomb wonder kid, huh?"

"I think you mean "wunderkind," but no, I wouldn't say that." I tell him

"Considering your last training officer just died on your watch, I don't think I'd say that, either."

"You know, I've heard about you, too, Dalton." I said to him

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah. Mostly that you're an opinionated, loudmouth knuckle-dragger who's only stuck with me 'cause I'm the most junior EOD tech and nobody's gonna work with you." I said

"Yeah, well, thanks to this opinionated, loudmouth knuckle-dragger, every bomb nerd I've ever protected has made it home to his loved ones, so I must be doing something right, Angus." He says and moved closer to me, "Let me tell you something. I got 64 days left until I ship back home. 64. And nothing, I mean nothing, especially not some scrawny, blonde-haired know-it-all is gonna keep me from seeing Texas again. You hear me, slick?" He asked me

"Believe me, slick, I can't wait to put you on that plane myself."

"Good. I think we're on the same page." He tells me

"I think so."

"And since we're gonna be working together, I think it's only fair I lay some ground rules. Rule number one: we don't ever, ever touch Jack Dalton's stuff again. You understand me?"

"Rule number two: we don't ever, ever refer to ourselves in the third person. Who does that?" I asked him

"Whatever, man."

"Look, like you said, 64 more days. Let's just get through that, then we don't ever have to see each other again." I tell him

"Fine."

"Fine with me." I said

"Good."

"Good."

* * *

 **Val POV...Now**

"I want this entire neighborhood blocked off and evacuated. LAPD, you're in charge of road closures. FBI, you're spearheading the evac. I want a perimeter set up around the house. Minimum safe distance, 100 feet. People, I nearly lost one agent yesterday, I am not losing two today. Now move." Matty ordered them

"I'm gonna check traffic cams and see if any of them caught The Ghost." Riley tells her walking over

"Okay, good. Do it quickly. Someone get me a radio."

"Wait!" We hear Bozer yell as he ran down the driveway, "Back! Everyone needs to get back!"

"Bozer, what're you talking about? Mac set the perimeter at 100 feet." Matty told him

"For people, yes. 100 feet, but until Mac knows more about the bomb itself, no cell phones, radios or wireless devices of any kind can be used within 200 feet. Right now, anything could be a trigger." He says and I sighed looking back up at the house

"Okay, new orders, people. All radios, cell phones and computers back up an additional hundred feet. 200 foot minimum for tech."

"I guess this explains why you called us from the landline at Mac's neighbor's house." I point out to him

"Mac would've called you himself, but apparently this Ghost guy cut our phone line, our cable and our Ethernet, anything Mac could use to communicate."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"First, Murdoc, now Casper the Unfriendly Ghost. You know, I'm starting to feel like we're making too many psychotic enemies." Jack mentioned as I cut around the patched hole in the wall, "And why don't you invest in a home security system for this place? Better yet, move out of the joint."

"It was my grandpa's house and the mortgage is paid off."

"So what? It's been haunted ever since you moved in. You know, it's no coincidence that everyone in The Amityville Horror died. You know, that place was haunted for sure." He says

"My house is not haunted. And statistically speaking, coincidences are inevitable. How about, you know what, let's just focus on one thing at a time. Like, uh, surviving today. That'd be cool, wouldn't it?" I asked him

"Super cool."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Riley, who the hell is The Ghost? Mac's never mentioned him." I asked her

"Some psychotic bomb maker Mac tangled with a while back. Killed Mac's EOD mentor in Afghanistan, tried to blow up Jack last year and the UN."

"And this guy wired my house to explode?" Bozer asked and she nodded her head

"Got him." She tells us and we look at her laptop

"That's The Ghost?" Bozer asked

"Did you get any shots of his vehicle?" Matty asked walking over

"No, he entered and exited the neighborhood on foot."

"Okay, send screengrabs of that man to the FBI and LAPD. Update the BOLO." Matty told her

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"And more red wires." I point out cutting out the piece of the wall, "All right, that's official. That's every door and every window. Even that secret escape hatch I installed is rigged."

"You have a secret escape hatch in this house and you never told me about it?" Jack asked me

"Oh, yeah, well, I did. It's not much of a secret anymore."

"So, let me get this straight. We're stuck in here and unless we want to shout at Bozer through that door all day and watch him run up and down that hill, which is very satisfying, there's no way to communicate with the outside world at all?" Jack asked

"Not yet."

"Can you fix that?" He asks

"Actually, I've been thinking about that and I got an idea." I tell him and moved over to the light switch then started to unscrew it

"Hang on a second." Jack stopped me

"What?"

"How do you know that that's not connected to the bomb?" He asked

"That's what I'm checking." I tell him and I take the cover off then shine my light looking around it, "All clear."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Matty, Riley, Val is something going on with Mac's porch light?" Bozer asked and we looked at the lights blinking

"It's Morse code." Matty says

"He's talking to us." Riley adds

Hey, you got a pen and paper?" Bozer asked a member of the FBI then he handed them to him

"This is taking too long. We're never gonna be able to help Mac disarm the bomb talking one letter at a time." Matty pointed out

"Actually, Matty, Mac must be thinking the same thing, because his message is "Tell Val photophone." Bozer told her and I looked at him confused

"Does "photophone" mean anything to you?" Matty asked me

"No, but I think the Internet's about to teach me something. Can I?" I asked Riley indicating to her laptop and she stepped aside then I started to search, "Okay. A photophone is an early telecommunications device invented by Alexander Graham Bell. It uses light rather than electronic signals to transmit sound, just like fiber optics." I explained to them

"Like Mac's porch light." Matty pointed out

"Looks like Mac wants us to build one of these photophones. Does it say what we need?" Bozer asked me

"Yeah. A photoresistor, a photodiode, or a phototransistor."

"And those are all different things?" Riley asked

"I guess so. This says what we're really after is a light sensor. All three of those objects contain one."

"The Hendersons just installed solar garden lights that automatically come on when the sun goes down. Would one of those work?" Bozer asked me

"I think so." I said looking at the screen

"Go. Quickly." Matty told him

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

I looked through my binoculars and see Val give me a thumbs up and I smiled setting them down and walked out of Bozer's room with some of the things I needed, "Val got the message." I said to Jack

"Oh, cool. So you think she's gonna be able to make your strobe light phone thingy?"

"It's a photophone." I corrected

"Whatever."

"And, uh, yeah. They're pretty straightforward. Plus she's pretty smart at this stuff even if she doesn't show it. Can you grab me that boom box right there?" I asked him pointing at it

"Hmm? Pretty sad excuse for a boom box, but here you go."

"Thanks." I said and got to work, "All right. Here. Start talking. I need to test it." I tell him handing him the microphone

"What do you want me to do?"

"Just start talking." I said to him

"What do you want me to say?"

"Doesn't matter. Anything you want." I tell him and walked away

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"How we doing?" Matty asked me and Bozer

"Nearly there. We're all wired up." I tell her as Bozer attached part of the sensor to Riley's computer

"I'm just finishing coding a program to convert that flickering light into sound." Riley says and we hear some static crackle

"My, my music hits me so hard Makes me say "Oh, my Lord".." We hear Jack sing and I snorted smiling at Riley

"I don't think Jack knows we can hear him." Bozer pointed out

"Are you sure? I mean, it is Jack that we're talking about. Riley, please tell him to shut up." Matty told her

"Unfortunately, I can't. We still need to build our transmitter."

"Build it quickly." Matty says to me and I looked at the light on top of the cop car then moved over to it taking the cover off

"Or the light switch. Or the windows..."

"Uh, what are you doing?" Bozer asked me

"I need a light."

"You've been spending to much time with Mac." Bozer tells me and I giggled then attached a few wires then nodded to Riley

"Okay."

"Mac? Jack? Can you hear me?" Matty asked "Hey, guys. Hey."

"Stop! Hammer time!" Jack sang

"Keep it up, Dalton, and the only hammer you're gonna know is the one I'm gonna hit you with when this is all over." She told him and I smiled

"Ah! Hey, I can't believe it, Matty, but it actually worked. You're talking through the light." Jack tells her

"Matty, it is good to hear your voice." Mac says

"It's good to hear yours, too. Now talk to me about the bomb. What's going on in there? Are you able to disarm it?" She asked him

"No clue. Setting up comms was step one. But now that we can talk, I'm gonna start looking for the bomb's explosives and detonation circuits."

"Mac, please work quickly. There are a lot of nervous people out here, myself included." She said to him and looked at me, I looked back up at the house with my heart racing.

"Don't worry, Matty. Mac's never met a bomb he couldn't defuse."

* * *

 **Mac POV...Flashback**

"Come on." Dalton says and smacked my boot while I laid under the Humvee, "Hey! Wunderkind, just admit you can't disarm it."

"I absolutely can disarm it. I just need you to stop talking and give me a minute."

"I'll give you a minute. That don't mean I got to stop talking. See, this is why everyone hates working EOD, man. Everything has to take forever." He tell me

"Well, you know what, there is a quicker way to do this."

"Really?" Dalton asked

"Yeah, it involves a loud boom and a bunch of shrapnel in your body."

"Ah, very funny." He says sarcastically

"Okay. There we go." I told him taking off the panel

"Yeah? Did you disarm it? Can we move on now?"

"No, I just got my first complete glimpse at it. I need more time." I said

"Yeah, imagine that."

"You know what? If you're so antsy, why don't you just open up the hood? I could use the light." I pointed out

"That won't arm the bomb?"

"There's no triggers in the hood latches." I said and he got up then then hood opened

"There you go."

"Okay, I see what I got to do now. I just got to cut this wire, and we'll be all good." I informed him and reached the clippers up carefully then it started to buzz

"Is that the bomb humming right now?" Dalton asked me

"Uh unfortunately, yeah."

"Well, what happened to "cut this wire and we're all good"?" HE asked and I groaned trying to think

"Do you have any more chewing gum?"

"Yeah I don't see how you chewing on a stick of gum's gonna help our situation." He mentioned

"Just give it to me and-and your sat phone."

"You want gum and my sat phone?" He asked

"Yes, only if you want to live." I tell him and he handed the SAT phone to me then a piece of gum

"There you go. Enjoy." He says and I began to work putting everything together then burned the wire I needed to cut. After the humming stopped I sighed then got up and shut the hood

"Always late, worth the wait." I said and popped the gum into my mouth

"Did you just disarm the bomb with a stick of gum?" Dalton asked

"Yeah."

"Well, I hate to admit it, but you are good." He tells me

"Well, technically, it wasn't the gum. It was the foil wrapper."

"Huh? Is there something wrong with you? I mean, I'm not sure I can spend another 47 days around you." Dalton told me

* * *

 **Now...**

"Hey, not to, uh, break your concentration, but shouldn't we be looking for what Casper the Unfriendly Ghost built instead of you building little doohickeys of your own?" Jack asked me as I was putting something together

"That's exactly why I need this particular doohickey. So I can find what The Ghost built. So far, all I've been able to locate are the bomb's triggers, so if I want to find the bomb's logic board The part I got to disarm if we want to live Yeah, gonna have to trace the wires back to their source." I tell him and walked over to the set of wires holding my detector up to it and it went red, "Now, see Yep. Glowing red means that I found a wire carrying a voltage."

"And you're sure it's working right?" Jack asked and I looked at him, "Sorry." He said and I continued to move around then pointed it down at ground and moved a bit then it lit up

"That's it. Detonator is right there." I pointed out and moved the carpet

"You sure?"

"Yes. Dark spot means no wires. Hand me that claw hammer." I tell him then I began to take the floor boards apart, I got a good enough hole made and I stuck my head down in it and saw a few blue barrels all connected to each other, "Definitely bigger than I expected. A lot bigger." I tell Jack and he looked

"Ay, Chihuahua."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"This doesn't make any sense. Last year, I was able to track The Ghost by tracing the wireless signal his hidden camera was transmitting." Riley told us

"And you can't do that now?" Bozer asked her

"No. I can't find any video feeds being sent out, and the camera Mac found isn't transmitting anything."

"So he's not watching this time?" Matty asked

"Mac, you need to hear this." Bozer told him

 _"Yeah, no, I heard, Boze."_

"The Ghost's M.O. is to watch his victims suffer. Why would he bother putting a camera in your house, Mac, if it isn't transmitting?" Matty mentioned

 _"He wanted us to know it was him. Because he knew it would draw our entire emergency response team here."_

 _"And why would he do something like that?"_ Jack asked and it hit me

"Because if they're here, then they can't be out sweeping the city." I point out

 _"The other half of The Ghost's M.O. is concealing one device with another. The bomb that's underneath my house is not the only one that he planted."_ Mac adds

 _"Are you saying there's another bomb somewhere?"_ Jack asked him

 _"Yes, and we need to find it now."_

* * *

"Port of Los Angeles, clear." Matty pointed out X-ing it out on the map, "LAX, clear. Dodger Stadium, clear. I still need reports on Hollywood and Highland and the Staples Center ASAP." She tells everyone

 _"H-Hey, Matty. Do me a favor and have someone go by and check on Bruce's house."_ Jack told her

"I'm pretty sure that Bruce Willis isn't on The Ghost's hit list, Jack." I said to him

 _"If I'm a bomb-flavored nut bar hatching a terrorist plot, taking out John McClane would be at the top of my to-do list."_

"That's good to know, Jack. How's Mac on defusing the bomb?" I asked him

 _"Hey, Mac. Your girlfriend and I'm gonna say Matty as well want a progress report."_

 _"Hey, dude. Stoichiometry in my head. Can't talk."_ Mac tells him

 _"Okay, uh..he's kind of going full-blown Bill Nye the Science Guy right now to talk, which in my experience is a good thing."_

"Well, here's hoping. We just cleared the Wilshire Federal Building, and Matty's got teams in a dozen other locations. I'll keep you posted on what our search turns up." I tell him

 _"All right."_

* * *

 **Mac POV...Flashback**

"Man, can we please stop this search, please?" Dalton asked me as we stood in the village and I crossed off an area on my map, "You've been looking all day and haven't found one single IED all day."

"Thought that was a good thing."

"Not when there's hostiles running around all over the place with itchy trigger fingers. And believe you me, they do itch. So can we please just hit the road, Nostra-dumbass." He asked

"Yeah, we can once I'm sure this place is clear. Satellite imagery says that there's lots of suspicious activity in the area." I point out to him

"Everything about this place is suspicious."

 _"Snakebite One One, this is Snakebite Zero Three, over."_ Command said over the radio

"This is Snakebite One One, over."

 _"What's your status? Over."_ He asked Dalton

"I just need one more hour." I said to him

"Negative on the devices, 03. The AO appears to be clear. Over." He told them and I looked at him

 _"Good. Copy. Return to base. Over."_

"Roger. Over. You heard him, slick. Orders are orders." Dalton told me and I put my map inside my vest

"Last time I didn't follow my gut, someone died. There's a bomb here, I can feel it. And if we don't find it, someone else will, like another American soldier or an innocent or a child." I said walking away from him

"Man, we've covered every inch of this armpit and ain't found diddly. Let's bounce! I ain't trying to spend my last 32 days before being discharged in the stockade because my annoying EOD tech would rather follow a hunch than follow orders!" He yells after me but I kept going. I walked around a building and looked at a bucket sitting there then kept going to an opening where I saw a man picking up some sticks then walked away, I stopped and glanced around then looked behind another bucket seeing an IED. I got down and pulled out my knife to disarm it when I feel someone grab me

"Damn it, Dalton, just give me a second." I said but when I turned around it wasn't him, it was 3 enemy soldiers standing there shouting at me then gunshots went off killing them and I looked up seeing Dalton in the window of a building, "Did you just take out four guys with two bullets?" I asked him

"Yeah, I'm trying to conserve ammo. Now, we need to get on the same page, kid, and I mean right now. That is, if you want to keep breathing. Next time you wait for me to take my position before you go scampering off like that, you hear me?" He asked

"I, uh, I didn't think you were coming with me. Thanks." I tell him

"Yeah, you're welcome. To be honest with you, I don't think I have the patience to break in another EOD nerd. Man, it's a whip. Now, hurry up. Disarm that damn thing."

* * *

 **Now...**

 _"Jack, please tell me that Mac is close to defusing that thing."_ Matty said over the radio

"You heard her, Mac. There's kind of a bunch of people out there who want an ETA on when you're gonna disarm this bomb including Val." Jack told me while I worked, I hate to say it but I can't think about Val right now, I love her but the only way I can get us out of this is to get this thing disarmed

"Yeah, well, can't disarm anything until I know exactly what explosive we're dealing with and I haven't been able to I.D. it using any of the usual tests, so, I had to cook up one of my own." I said grabbing a rag and carried my solution then went back into the hole. I wiped the rim of the barrel then dipped it into the solution

"What's going on down there?" Jack asked me

"Most explosives are nitogren-based, so if I can test The Ghost explosive to see how much nitrogen it contains, we'll know what we're.." I started to say but then the solution turned the color I didn't want to see, "No, no, no, no, no. I was really hoping that wasn't gonna happen." I said and climbed out of the hole, "Matty, we have a problem. The Ghost really outdid himself this time. He synthesized cg-N." I told them

 _"I'm guessing that's not a cable network."_ Matty mention

 _"It's cubic gauche nitrogen. It's a new type of explosive with an energy density of 33 kilojoules per gram, which is three times that of HMX."_ Val explained, God I love how smart she is

"English, Val. Tell the rest of us in English." Jack said

"The bomb underneath my house is built with the most powerful nonnuclear explosive known to man, which might also explain why we haven't found that second bomb." I add

 _"I'm not following you, blondie."_ Matty told me

"Uh, with an explosive this powerful, The Ghost isn't going to take out one target. He's going for the maximum number of targets he can hit with one bomb."

 _"So, if the second bomb is the same size as the one under your house.."_ Val began to say

"He could take out half of downtown Los Angeles."

* * *

 _"We found the second bomb downtown. Charlie is starting to disarm it now. Unfortunately, he says it's even bigger than yours."_ Matty tells us

"Oh, come on, now, Matty. It's not a competition, all right?" Jack asked her

 _"Mac, any idea how long it's gonna take you to disarm the one in there?"_

"Hopefully not too long." I said

"Yeah, but between me and you, you know you can disarm that bad boy way quicker than Charlie can disarm his bomb." Jack told me

"Thought it wasn't a competition." I point out and jumped into the hole

"Well, no, no. It's not. It's a team effort. Speaking of which, what can I do to help?" Jack asked me

"Know any good prayers?" I asked him and got to work scanning the bomb then opened a panel on it seeing the wires then moved my clippers closer to them when suddenly it started beeping

"What happened?! What'd you do?" Jack asked me

"I didn't do anything. It just started doing that all by itself." I said to him backing up, "Hey, Jack. Tell Matty Charlie needs to stop!"

* * *

"The bombs, they're connected. Two separate devices linked by wireless receivers. Disable one, it triggers the other. So if I had just disarmed the bomb underneath my house, then I would've set the one off downtown." I explained to them

 _"And vaporize 20 city blocks."_ Bozer pointed out

"Exactly. All right. Well, I'll be back in touch once I figure out how to disarm them both at the same time." I tell them and start to go into the hole

"Wait a minute, now." Jack said stopping me, "Have you ever disarmed bombs that are connected to each other before?" He asked and I put my hand over the mic

"No. Why does that matter?" I asked him

"That's not really what I want to hear."

"Well, it's the truth.

If you've never done this before, how are we supposed to neutralize this thing?" Jack asked

"We're gonna have to be very careful."

* * *

 **Flashback...**

 _"Will you please stop telling me to be careful? I am Mr. Careful. My middle name is careful."_ Dalton tells me

"Your name is Mr. Jack Careful Careful?" I asked him

 _"Better than Angus, I'll tell you that much."_

"Anyway, the guy who made all these IEDs, as I was saying, is really good at it. So we should both be very..."

 _"Careful?"_ He asked, _"Listen, I heard you the first ten times, kid. I got 14 days left in this hellhole before I go home forever. I am made of careful."_ He said and there was a pause, _"No. No, no, no, no. Hey, you know that bomb you were looking for?"_ He asked

"Yeah?"

 _"I think I just stumbled right on top of it."_ He told me

"All right. Hang tight. I'm on my way."

 _"No, no, no. Do not come up here, you hear me? Stand down. This is the moment of truth. I'm a dead man. Just get out of here. Go on. Save yourself."_ He says and I come into the room he's in

"Hey, Mr. Careful." I said walking over to him

"Carl's Jr.? Can't you follow one simple order? How is the world's slowest bomb tech gonna defuse this thing in a minute and a half? You see that?" He asked me

"I know. Guess I'm just gonna have to figure it out, aren't I?"

"What's the matter with you? The only reason I'm not running for my life is 'cause I'm sitting directly on top of it. You're not. Get out of here." He told he and grabbed my jacket, "Don't you know a lost cause when you see one?"

"No, I don't. One of my many character flaws. This is how it works. You watch my back, I watch yours. I'm gonna need that arm to do it, though." I said and he let go then I looked at the bomb, "Here we go."

"How are you gonna defuse this thing in less than a minute?" He asked me

"I don't know. You're just gonna have to trust me."

* * *

 **Now...**

"Hey, Charlie, you have a double relay under scoop on yours?" I asked him

 _"Yeah. I got one right here."_

"All right. I know what we need to do. We're gonna have to cut the wires simultaneously to sever the link." I tell him

 _"Right. Once they're separated, they won't be able to trigger each other, so we can disarm them individually."_ He explained

"Exactly."

 _"Okay. I'll count."_ He says and I moved my covers to the wire, _"On three."_

"Just like old times."

 _"One two..."_ He started but then it hits me

"Wait, no, stop! Stop!" I tell him

 _"What?!"_

"Speed of light! Speed of light." I said

 _"Oh, God. I can't believe we almost just..."_

"Unless you and Chewie are talking about fixing the hyper-drive on the Millennium Falcon, you're just gonna have to explain this whole speed of light thing to me real quick." Jack says

"Okay, so, the bombs are communicating via a direct wireless link. But Charlie and I are talking through a relay that includes Phoenix comms and my porch light."

 _"All those relays mean your verbal connection is slower than the one shared by the bombs."_ Val pointed out

 _"So there's no way for us to cut these two wires at the exact same time. And if we don't sever the wires simultaneously..."_ Charlie started to say

"There's gonna be two real big booms in Southern California." Bozer finished

"How in the hell are we supposed to cut two wires, on opposite ends of the city, at the same damn time?" Jack asked

"You said motion won't set off this bomb, right?" Bozer asked Charlie

"Right."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Are these your people?" The SWAT commander asked Matty as the garbage truck pulled up with Bozer and Riley in it, "What the hell are they doing?"

"Trying to save lives, Commander. Look, the bomb in that truck and the bomb in the house are linked, so obviously.."

"What? You mean the other bomb here?" The chief asked her

"Or would you rather I leave it downtown? The only way to disarm these things is to cut one wire on each device at the exact same instant. So get out of the way and let my people figure out how to do just that." Matty told them and they walked away as Boxer, Riley and Charlie walked over.

"Charlie, meet our boss, Matty. She's terrifying. It's awesome." Bozer says to him

"Pleasure."

"Nice to meet you, Charlie." Matty tells him

"And this is Val." Bozer introduced

"Ah, your Val." Charlie tells me and I looked at him confused, "Mac's told me about you." He said and I chuckled a little.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Okay, buddy. Good news is, that second bomb just got here. The bad news is..."

"Second bomb just got here?" I asked finishing for him

"Right. So what now? We signal Charlie-boy through the window and snip-snip on the count of three or what?"

"Not quite. Still too many variables, like the amount of time it takes my voice to reach Charlie or the difference in our reaction times. Even the slightest delay in cuts could, uh.."

"Turn your neighborhood into a giant smoking crater?" He asked

"Yeah."

"I get it. But I assume you're not cannibalizing that DVD player for funsies, so what's the plan?" Jack asked

"Hey, Bozer? I need you to break into Mrs. Schwartz's house next door and steal her DVD player." I told him.

 _"All right."_

"Val when he get back I'm gonna need your help" I told her

 _"Got it"_ She says, I wish I could at least be down there with her right now, if this wasn't gonna work I wanted to kiss her one last time.

* * *

 _"So what exactly are we building?"_ Val asked me

"Wire cutters that snip when a beam of light hits the photocell."

"Well, that is Fonzarelli cool, no doubt. But I'm still a little foggy on how your light-powered super-scissors are gonna help solve our twin bomb problem." Jack says

 _"Speed of light, Jack. Speed of light."_ Charlie told him

"Oh, yeah. I mean, I still don't get it, but..."

"You will. We just need a bunch of mirrors now, and two prisms." I said to Jack

"Okay, tell you what, I'll collect the mirrors, 'cause I'm sure you got a box of prisms just layin' around here somewhere."

"Yeah, I do." I tell him

"You're a weird guy, man. I mean, I'm thankful for it, but you're a weirdo, for sure. Val's a lucky girl." He says and I smiled

* * *

 _"Okay, Mac. Truck's in position. What's next?"_ Matty asked me

"Next, have Charlie position his wire cutters on the truck bomb with the photocell facing the bedroom window so that I have clear line of sight. Oh, and before you do any of that, shut off every light source out there."

 _"So that your neighbor's garden lights don't come on and trigger a premature cut followed by a giant boom?"_ Val asked and I smiled

"Yeah, good call."

 _"You, get the power company on the phone. I want this entire neighborhood dark in ten minutes."_ Matty ordered

 _"I can do it in two. I just need a wet towel, a broomstick and a ladder."_ Bozer said and paused, _"What? You think this is the first time Mac's asked me to blow out the power in the neighborhood? Please."_

"And you're sure those last two mirrors are a hundred and..."

"125 inches? Yeah, I got it." Jack says finishing for me

"And the distance between all the mirrors, from the laser pointer to the photocell on the bomb is...

"62 feet, eight inches. We've measured it four times, Mac. You want to do it again?" Jack asked

"No. It's just, we're not gonna get another shot at this." I point out

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm all set. We just need Bozer to turn off all the.." I started to say and the lights flickered, "...lights." I walked into Bozer's bedroom and looked out at Charlie giving him a nod then walked out

"You know, there is a silver lining to all this. If it doesn't work, it'll be over in an instant. You know me, I ain't afraid of death, I just don't want there to be any pain." Jack tells me

"Could you have imagined, when we first met back in Afghanistan, that we were gonna be standing on a massive IED in my own house in Los Angeles?" I asked him

"Hey, I can't believe you saved me from the massive IED I stumbled upon in Kabul. You remember that one? Huh? Yeah, I feel like I've been playing with house money ever since. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

I gave a small chuckle then looked at the door, "I just wish.."

"Hey," Jack says and I look at him, "She knows." He told me and I sighed, Val does know I love her and I know she loves me

"Well, I'm ready. Are you?" I asked him

"Nobody I'd rather die with, man." He says and we shake hands

"Me neither. You're not crying on me, are you?" I asked him

"No, man. Deltas don't cry, dawg. You got this." Jack tells me and I paused then turned on the laser beam having it hit all the mirrors then I shut it off, "Did it work?" Jack asked and I went to check on the bomb under my floor then went to Bozer's room and Charlie gave me the thumbs up

"The bombs are disconnected."

"Sweet!" Jack yells

"Just please, no loud noises yet. We still have two very powerful bombs to disarm. It's gonna take me a while." I told him

"Right, right. We still have to unboomify the twins. I jumped the gun on that one, I'm sorry. Hey, hey, you-you want a soda?" He asked me

"Yes. Just be quiet about it."

"Right."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Come on Mac." I said looking at the house and Riley held my hand then the front door opened then they walked out and I sighed in relief hugging Riley as they walk down to us. "Yeah! Ha ha! We did it! Don't worry, people, Jack Dalton's got your back! You know me, I was never worried. I said, "What's the problem? Let's fix it!" A snip-snip!" Jack says and hugged Riley as Mac shook Charlie's hand then walked over to me and hugging me then i sniffled calming my heart and nerves.

"Hey, it's all gonna be ok." He told as we hugged

"I know. It's just, first what happened with Cage now this I just.."

"Hey," He cut me off and put his hands on my face, "I love you, and I'm not going anywhere, okay?" He asked me and I nodded my head

"I love you too Angus Macgyver." I said with a smirk and he kissed me. I will never not want to kiss him

* * *

 **Mac POV...Flashback...**

 _"Snakebite One One, this is Snakebite Zero Three, you're clear to roll."_ Command tells me as I sat in the Humvee

"This is Snakebite One One. Love to, but probably shouldn't fly solo. Still waiting on my new cover. Over."

 _"Thought you were with Dalton."_ They told me

"I was. But he finished his tour this morning and shipped out. Over." I said

 _"Copy. Let me see who you've been assigned. Hang on."_

"What kind of name is "Angus"?" I hear a familiar voice ask and I see Jack

"Jack?"

"In the flesh." He tells me

"I thought you went home."

"Well, almost did. It's a funny thing. There I was, boarding my transport, just 15 hours between me and the great state of Texas, and then it hits me: that poor little bomb nerd with the silly hamburger name ain't gonna make it two days in the sandbox without me watching his back. So I turned around, walked off that plane and signed up for another tour, under the condition I'm paired with you, of course. And before you go gettin' big-headed, I didn't do it for you, I did it for my country. I got a sneaky suspicion you're a little too valuable to Uncle Sam to lose just yet."

"Well, thanks, man." I tell him, "Here we go."

"Yeah. Here we go."

* * *

"I'm having every piece of both bombs shipped to my lab in New York. If there's anything we can use to track down The Ghost I'll find it." Charlie told me

"I know you will, Charlie. And hey, thanks, man." I tell him and gave him a quick hug

"You watch out for this one for me." He told Val who giggled and I wrapped my arm around her waist.

"I think I'm in good hands." I said and she smiled at me

"Hey, Charlie, thank you, man, for everything." Jack told him as he walked towards the door, "Hey, Mac, come here for a second." He says and I looked at Val giving her a quick kiss then walked over to him, "I didn't want to break your concentration while you were in the middle of saving our lives or anything, but when I was rounding up mirrors, I realized something. You remember this weird gear we found in your daddy's watch, the one with the numbers on it? I think I identified it." Jack told me, "Refresh your memory with the numbers on the gear. Go ahead." He says and I look at the numbers

"Okay."

"Okay? Now, look at the numbers on the tattoo on his arm." Jack pointed out holding up the picture of the prisoner and I grabbed it

"You're right! The last six digits match the tattoo on his arm."

"You remember what you said about coincidences?" He asked me

"From a statistical perspective, they are inevitable."

"Like reuniting with your father? I'm telling you, man, this is no coincidence. He's trying to send you a message. I think he's trying to tell you how to find him." Jack tells me and I look at the photo again.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Hey you." I said knocking on Mac's bedroom door and he looked at me, "I'm gonna get going."

"Not gonna stay the night?" He asked and I smiled walking into the bedroom and close the door.

"Did you want me to?"

"I always want you to stay." He says walking over to me putting his hands on my waist as I wrapped my arms around his neck, "Today scared me, I tried not to think about you because I wanted to focus on the bomb but you kept popping up in there. I really do love you Val and I'm so happy we are together. Nothing could ever make as happy as you do."

I smiled then kissed him, "I love you too Mac. I couldn't...stop worrying while I waited down there looking at this house and know that that there was nothing I could do to help."

"You put that photophone together.."

"With the help of google." I tell him

"The cutters?"

"With your help." I point out, "I have beauty not brains."

He pulled me closer to him, "Well I agree that you're beautiful, but you are smart, trust me," He says and I smile, "And I happen to find it a huge turn on," He tells me and kissed me then deepened it causing me to moan. Mac took advantage of it and pushed his tongue into my mouth causing me to moan again. I moved my hands into his hair, he took his mouth from mine and trailed it down my jawline to my neck biting and kissing it.

"Oh Mac." I managed to say and I heard him growl against my neck, his hands trailed down my side sending shock waves through me, he grabbed my legs and wrapped them around his waist. I felt the bulge in his pants press against me and he moved us over to his bed and laid me down then laid on top of me, he broke from the kiss and looked at me. The way he looked at me always made my heart jump.

"You're so amazing." He says and I pulled his face back to mine, he kissed me again and put his tongue in my mouth and played with mine. He put his hands under my shirt pulling it over my head and threw it to the floor. My hands caressed his chest and I did the same thing to him, I let his eyes roam over my breasts. His hands wandered up and down my body. I pulled back and looked into his eyes, then used my strength and flipped us over so I wa abover him then kissed him as he put his fingers in my hair then I trailed kisses down his neck then moved to his chest lightly biting at the same time and he tightened his fingers, "Val." He whispered and I moved back to his mouth kissing him then bit his lower lips making him groan. He flipped us back over and I unbuttoned his pants and pushed them down his hips. He traced his tongue over my collarbone and down my front. I let out gasp as I felt his tongue circle my hard, pink nipple. He took my breast into his mouth and bit down slightly as he sucked. He untied the buttons on my pants and slid them down my legs, pulling my underwear along with them. He stopped what he was doing and sat back on the bed and looked at my body.

I lifted my head and pressed my lips to his, he kissed me deeply as he positioned himself between my legs. He lifted my head and cradled it in his arm. I felt his hand slowly trace up and down my inner thigh, he sucked at my neck and seemed to enjoy it as I let out a soft moan.

Our tongues melded together passionately. I shot my head back head as I felt him push slowly into me. I released a small moan digging my nails into his back shooting my head back.

Mac looked into my eyes as he slowly began moving himself in and out. My whole body was tingling with fire and passion, I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist as our bodies rocked together. I moved my hips to match his pace, my moans grew louder as he repeatedly hit my g spot with each thrust. I bit my lip trying to hold back my orgasm, my hands wrapped around his waist as I pushed him deeper inside me. I grabbed his hair and pulled his head close to my lips. My pleasure made it difficult to form a sentence, "Faster….Harder…" I managed to whisper. He pumped into me harder and rapidly. The entire bed was now shaking, I saw him bite his lip hard enough to bring blood to keep from finishing, my back arched as my orgasm sent waves through my body and my moans turned to screams of pleasure "Oh..god..Mac!"

His body bucked as he came. He grunted loudly as I felt his body convulse. He collapsed on top of me, feeling each pump as he spilled himself inside of me.

He rolled off of me and we both tried to catch our breath, I turned over to look at him and he looked at me. He put his hand on my face before kissing me on my lips, I put my head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around me after pulling the blanket over us and I looked at him as he looked at me, "Who would have thought I would get so lucky to be with a girl like you?" He says and I looked at him confused

"A girl like me?"

"Amazing, smart, beautiful, so strong that nothing can take her down." He tell me and I smiled

"I think I'm the lucky one." I said and he kissed me then I laid my head on his chest and I just laid there listening to his heart beat, I love this man, so much and no matter what I won't do anything to hurt him.


	13. Chapter 13

**You can run, but you can't hide**

 _Rebel munitions warehouse, South America_  
 _You know...the usual_

"Please, put that down. Trust me, you don't want to play with it." Mac says

"Yeah. Yeah. Just hand it over. Just hand it over, okay?" I asked and the monkey chirped, "Just hand it over." I said to the monkey as it held the detonator, "Hand it over, little monkey, okay?"

"Hey, little man." Jack says walking into the room holding a fruit, "Hey, man, look what I got. A ripe, delicious thingamabob. All his monkey buddies are eating these outside. They're going crazy for 'em. Hand that detonator over, and this baby's all yours. Hmm?" Jack asked and took a bite of it, "So good. Oh. Mmm Mmm. So juicy. Mmm." He took another bite then burped and gagged, "Oh, y'all eat these things? How are they not extinct?"

"How are you not extinct, Jack? What kind of Darwin Award nominee puts down a detonator in a room full of explosives?" I asked him

"The kind with only two hands who had to zip.." He started to say and burped again, "..oh Zip-tie a rebel leader in a hurry, Val. That's who. I just set the detonator down for a second, man. How was I supposed to know some cappuccino monkey was gonna go picking it up?"

"Capuchin." Mac corrected

"Ah, I think it's cappuccino."

"It's Capuchin." Mac says again

"Guys, it's a monkey." I told them

"You know what? Good news is safety's still on. So we're not in any real danger, unless he somehow figures out how to.." Mac says and the money turned off the safety,"...arm it."

"Uh-oh. Hey, I think we better give Curious George something else to be curious about before he pushes that button and ends us all right here." Jack says

"Yeah, yeah, like what, like what?" I asked him looking around

"I don't know."

"Hey, buddy." Mac says to the monkey and I see him hold up his pocket knife, "What's this? Yeah. Yeah. You like that, don't you? Want to trade?" He asked the monkey moving slowly towards him, "Yeah. Uh-huh. Just like..." The money screeched taking the pocket knife and dropping the detonator that Mac quickly picked up turning the safety back on, "We're safe."

"Safe? What is safe about giving a knife to a monkey? Do you have any idea what that could do?" Jack asked him

"I don't know, Jack. What?"

"You probably just started Planet of the Apes, man." Jack tell him and I rolled my eyes

* * *

 _"Hey, guys. I just I wanted to say thank you so much for all the flowers and the gifts. And, Bozer, you're right. The leftover Christmas pastrami is surprisingly good."_ Cage says over video and Bozer laughed, _"So the, um, the doctors have approved my travel request. I'm gonna be flying home to Australia tomorrow to be with my sister, while I'm finishing PT. I'm gonna miss you guys. All of you. So take care of each other. Especially Jack. And if you can find Murdoc for me."_ She finished and Mac turned it off as I looked down then he grabbed my hand

"I told her that was the plan." Mac says and I looked at him, he put his arm around my waist then kissed my temple

"Amen to that." Bozer said

"How's it going over here?" Mac asked turning to face Bozer's lab table then we walked over to it

"Slow. I mean, I kind of thought you lost your mind when you said that 11 digit number etched into that gear was a clue that might help you find your dad. But then, his super weird Christmas present shows up, proving you right but leaving me with even more questions."

"Yeah, like, why do the numbers on this guy's arm match part of the number on the gear?" Mac asked picking up the file

"Yeah. And who is this guy? And what does he have to do with your dad?" Bozer asked

"Look, all I know for certain is he's not in any database." Mac tells him and walked over to the computer

"What does Matty think about the dossier?" Bozer asked him and Mac looked at me

"Uh, I don't know."

"You haven't shown her?" Bozer asked

"Nope."

"Why not? When it comes to analyzing confusing intelligence, no one is better than..."

"Because I think she's involved." Mac said cutting him off and Bozer looked at him then me then Mac again, "Yeah. I thought I'd found proof that she knew my dad, so I confronted her about it. She said she didn't. I think she's lying, but at the same time, there's no way to know."

"Man. This is a lot to process, Mac. Now I understand why you're not upset you lost your knife." Bozer told him

"Didn't lose it. Gave it away. Besides, it was just a knife."

"Uh, no. What we use to carve the Thanksgiving turkey is "just a knife"" This was the vintage pocketknife that your grandfather gave you." Bozer pointed out

"Fair enough. But since its final act was to save my life, and Val's I think Grandpa would be proud." Mac says and I smiled at him

"I'd be happy to order a replacement knife for you." Sparky told him, "Or you could just ask my replacement to order one."

"Dude, for the millionth time, you're not being replaced. That is a vehicular combat drone for DARPA's Korman Challenge." Bozer told him indicating to our drone, "The competition's been going on for years, and nothing from our lab has ever been replaced because of it."

"Well, I should hope not. Those weapons are utterly useless in a laboratory setting. And have you tried talking to it? It has absolutely no personality." Sparky says and I laughed wrapping my arms around Mac's shoulders from behind as he sat down

"That's because it doesn't need one. The goal of the challenge is to prototype a fully autonomous military vehicle, not a lab assistant. Your skill sets don't overlap in any way. Okay?" Riley asked Sparky

"This guy could someday do for ground troops what Predator drones have done for our Air Force." Bozer added

"If we could beat the CIA this year." Mac says

"And the NSA. And the DoD, JPL.." Riley mentioned

"And Homeland." I said and Mac held my hand then kissed it

"Which we absolutely will. Have some faith, guys. This is our year." Bozer tells us and I smiled as the lab door opened

"Hey, guys? I know you're busy getting ready for the competition, but Jack is acting weird." Jill told us walking in

"To be fair, it would be weird if he wasn't acting weird." Mac pointed out and I lightly smacked his chest

"Yeah, Jill. By now, you should know that's kind of his default setting." Riley adds

"Right. No, this is weird weird. Even for Jack." She says

"Okay." Mac said and we left.

* * *

"What's going on, Jack? Who's this guy?" Mac asked him as we walked into the round room

"Assassin? Terrorist?" Bozer asked as well

"No. Worse. Way worse. Meet James LeRoy. "Jimmy" to his friends, and his enemies."

"Uh sorry, did we just get a new mission?" I asked him

"No. He's not a mission, Val. That right there is my old high school nemesis."

"Seriously?" Bozer asked him

"Look who finally decided to listen to me and go to his high school reunion. Good on you." Mac tells him

"Apparently, the same guy that used Phoenix resources to dig up dirt on an innocent civilian." Riley pointed out

"Innocent"? Who said he's innocent? That guy right there spent four years ruining my life, always one-upping me. When we both went out for class president, he won. We both go out for starting quarterback, he won. And when we were both up for "best hair," guess what?"

"He won?" Bozer asked

"That's right. He won. And senior year, when he beat me out for homecoming king I was never the same after that."

"Well, you do know that homecoming kings hold no real power, right?" I asked him

"Just sayin', this punk really shook my confidence."

"Well, he may have, Jack, but this was years ago." Bozer told him

"Decades." I added

"Centuries, even." Mac says and we all chuckled

"Yeah Oh, very funny. No, no. Go ahead. Laugh it up at my expense. I'm telling you, this was a real turning point for me in my life. Who knows what I could've accomplished if it weren't for that guy, right there?"

"If you hate the guy so much, why are you even going to the reunion?" I asked him

"Well, I wasn't, but then you fools all signed up for this robo-apocalypse contest, and I don't want no part of that."

"Jack. The Korman Challenge is a friendly competition." Mac explained to him

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what Miles Bennett Dyson said when he activated Skynet and unleashed an army of Terminators. Does-does Matty even know you guys signed up for this contest?" Jack asked us and the screen chirped then Matty popped on

 _"Can someone please tell me why I'm waiting on you guys? I mean, we're all loaded up, ready to leave for Virginia, and we're just missing the team that's, you know, actually competing."_ Matty tells us and we walked out of the room except for Jack.

* * *

"Ten years ago, DARPA scientist Martin Korman had a dream: to create an autonomous medevac transport that could rescue wounded soldiers from the battlefield without risking additional troops. So he created the Korman Challenge. To bring the brightest minds together, with the hope that one day, someone would fulfill his dream. But one aspect of the competition has always remained the same. Our team has never won. But this is our year." Matty tells us and we all clap, "The year that the Phoenix takes home the blue ribbon, and all the black budget funding that comes along with it. So tighten every single screw, and double-check every line of code, because everything on this vehicle must be absolutely.." Matty says and sparks flew out of our drone, "Bozer?" She asked him

"No problem. We can totally fix that."

"No mistakes today, people. None. Now, go win that challenge." Matty told us and walked away as Mac and Bozer walked over to the drone while I sat with Riley and we see a girl walk in

"Pliers and a folding chair?" She asked them and I glanced back at her then looked at Riley who shrugged, "Wow. The Phoenix Foundation really works with some cutting edge tech. Good to see you again, MacGyver." She told him and I looked at them, "I came by to wish you luck."

"Allie Winthrop. How's life at the CIA's Special Research Division?" Mac asked her

"Oh, you know. Another year, another kick-ass prototype." She says and walked out with us following her seeing another drone drive over, "Meet Bruno, the Battle Ready Unmanned Networked Operative. See you at the finish line, MacGyver. May the best bot win." She told him and walked away then the drove drove away

"Yeah I'm not sure this is gonna be our year." Bozer pointed out

"So, when did you two hook up?" I asked Mac and he looked at me

"What?" He asked then I raised my eyebrow at him, "Yeah, fine. That happened."

"Hmm." I said with a smirk

"Korman Challenge bonus points. Why didn't you tell me, man?" Bozer asked him

"Because it wasn't like that. It was a few years ago. It was my first time here. I really liked her. And I thought she liked me. Right up until I saw her going through my drone's design specs on my laptop." He told us and I nodded then looked over at her

"She was snooping on your laptop?" Bozer asked

"Yeah, well I guess for some people, winning is the only thing that matters." Mac says then Bozer and Riley walked away, "Val.."

"Don't. I'm not jealous. I have ex's too," I told him and he walked over putting his hands on my hips, "Besides, past is the past." I said and he lightly kissed me

"That's right, I have an amazing girl who I can't see my life without."

"Who's that?" I asked with a smile and he smirked then kissed me again

* * *

"Val?" I heard someone ask and I turned around

"Kevin?" I asked and he laughed then hugged me spinning me around then set me down

"How are you? I haven't seen you since you left us." He told me and I smiled

"Oh I'm good, just working for Phoenix."

"What's Phoenix?" He asked and I looked over at Riley, Bozer and Mac who was looking over at me.

"The Phoenix Foundation, it's a think tank."

"A think tank? Wow that's awesome. What do you do there?" He asks

"Mmm a little of this, little of that." I tell him and glanced over at Mac who was trying to not be obvious as he looked at me, "But I gotta go, our drone is up."

"Oh yeah of course," He says and hugged me again, "Good to see you."

"You too." I told him and walked over to the others

"Who's that?" Mac asked me looking forward.

"You're not the only one with an ex here." I said and he shifted, "Are you jealous?" I asked him with a smirk

"No, no I just...Okay a little." He says and I kissed his cheek

"Past is in the past." I told him and he smiled then gave me a quick kiss.

"Next contestant to the starting line." The announcer said Riley drove it forward

"Organization?" The judge asked

"Phoenix Foundation." Mac told him

"And the name of your entry?" The judge asks and Bozer pulled off the paper to the sticker

"Dalton's Nightmare." Bozer laughed and I looked at the judge who had a 'not amused' look on his face, "It it's kind of a inside joke."

"Okay. It's a 20 mile course. Your vehicle earns points from speed, accuracy, and the ability to differentiate between targets. This is a live fire exercise, so I'm gonna have to ask you to..." He tells us indicating behind him

"Oh. All our weapons are state of the art, less lethal technology: Taser cannons, beanbag rounds, pepper spray grenades." Bozer explained

"I don't like guns." Mac added

"Super. I'm still gonna have to ask you to step behind the safety line." The judge told us, "All set?" He asked Riley

"All set." She says and we all walked behind the gate

"If your robot doesn't win, you're all fired. Best of luck." Matty told us

"Be advised, this is a live fire exercise. Weapons hot. Ready. Set..." The judge started to say then suddenly we hear and explosion and see Allie's drone shoot at the other ones and everyone panicked, then it shoots at ours and Mac turned me away then we looked over and saw Allie come out of her tent with her computer.

"Okay, this has to be a rules violation." Bozer says

"I don't think this is part of the contest." Mac pointed out then rushed over to her and we followed, "Allie. Allie!"

"It's not me. I'm locked out. Bruno won't respond to any of my commands."

"Has this ever happened before?" Riley asked her going to another computer and I see BRUNO drive over to us

"Never. I don't know what's going on."

"Mac!" Bozer yells moving out of the way and I grabbed Riley's jacket pulling her out of the way as it drove by us then I see Mac and Allie on the ground watching it drive away

* * *

 _"High-impact polymer armor, and a gas-electric hybrid engine with a 600 mile radius. I-It's like a Predator drone on wheels run by an on-board artificial intelligence that's just gone completely insane."_ Matty says

 _"Well, technically, A.I.s can't go insane. This is more like when an aerial drone goes rogue because its code has bugs. They call it a "flyaway." Okay, maybe now's not the best time to nitpick terminology."_ Riley said and I smiled as me, Mac and Allie tried to find the drone

"I ran Bruno through 10,000 simulations without a single glitch." Allie mentioned

"Bruno destroyed eight other drones and tried to turn us into human roadkill. That's a bit more than a glitch." I point out and she looked at me

"Guys, the only thing that matters now is stopping Bruno before he hurts anyone else.

"Well we can't stop him if we can't even find him. So how do we do that?" I asked

"Head for McLean." Allie says to Mac

"Virginia? You think he's headed to CIA Headquarters?"

"If Bruno ever malfunctions, he's programmed to go into safe mode. As long as the on board GPS still works, he should be driving back to my lab as we speak."

"Running home to mama. It's cute when a puppy does it. This? Not so much." Riley tells her

"Okay, Allie, I've got birds in the sky, Jeeps on the ground and satellite views from here to McLean. There's no sign of your lost dog." Matty says, "How do we get eyes on it?"

"I'm not sure we can. Bruno is radar, sonar, and thermal invisible. He's got visual camouflage, and he's programmed to use dense foliage for cover."

"And good luck following the right set of Humvee tracks on a military base." Mac adds

"Say, Allie. You didn't want to maybe put in a master kill switch just in case, you know, this happened?" I asked her

"Of course I put in a master kill switch. It was the first thing I tried when Bruno took off. But the code is corrupted. It's-it's not working."

"Wait a minute, Allie, you said that Bruno is a gas-electric hybrid?" Mac asked her and she nodded her head, "Then I think I know how to find him. Hey, Matty, would you tell all of our search vehicles to turn off their engines."

"Because we'll find Bruno faster if fewer people are looking for it?" She asked

"Yeah, well actually, we're not gonna be using our eyes. We're gonna be following our noses. Allie, can you take over the wheel?" Mac asked and unbuckled

"Oh, yeah." She says and I watched them switch

"Val, can you get me a screwdriver from back there?" Mac asked me

"Yeah." I said then grabbed one and handed it to him

"You're using the A/C system's carbon dioxide sensors to build an electronic nose so we can sniff out Bruno's exhaust." Allie pointed out

"It may not be the cutting edge tech you're used to, but it should still do the trick."

* * *

"Look, I know I'm not in the position to criticize anyone else's work right now, but are you sure this contraption of yours is gonna work?" Allie asked as me and Mac held our sensors out each window then mine beeped

"Oh. Left, Allie, left." Mac told her and she turned then his beeped, "Oh, right. Take a right." She turned then after a moment both mine and lit up, "Bruno should just be straight up ahead." Mac says and we see the drone drive by us

"Riley, we got eyes on Bruno. Follow our signal." I tell her as we follow it and Mac handed me his sensor which I put in the back

 _"I see your signal. More importantly, I see his signal. I'm gonna try to hack in and see if I can shut him down."_

"Well, hack fast because Bruno just left the reservation. We're in civilian territory now." Mac pointed out and we passed the exit

"Guys, that was the exit for McLean." I told them

"What happened to "he's programmed to go home"?" Mac asked Allie

"I don't know. He is programmed to go home."

 _"Damn it, guys, I can't get any kind of access."_ Riley told us

"If you use my login credentials, it should give you admin privileges." Allie told her

 _"I tried. The admin's been changed. I can't hack in because someone else already has. Whoever they are, they still have control of Bruno."_

 _"So if Bruno isn't going home, where the hell is he going?"_ Bozer asked

* * *

"You can't think of any way that someone could've gained access to Bruno, like a-like a breached firewall, or a phishing e-mail?" Mac asked her

"No. No. I'm insanely paranoid. And my security protocols are better than the NSA's."

"Well, somebody got in. We need to get them out. Riley, what if we just shut down all the cell towers? Cut them off from Bruno?" I asked her

"It's the first thing I tried. But 300 milliseconds after I killed the towers, Bruno switched over to a Chinese spy satellite. I'm trying to hack into that now, but it could take hours."

"We don't have hours. The Pentagon is only 30 minutes away." I point out

"And even if you kill the satellite, I programmed Bruno to adapt. He'll just switch to ad hoc cellular, unsecured Wi-Fi, infra-sound." Allie says

"Actually, I have an idea. Allie, pull over now." Mac told her and she did then he got out at a house running tot he yard and grabbed the satalite then ran back to the van, "Okay, go, go, go!" Mac says and we drove off

"Hey, Mac, didn't you hear what I said? If you jam the signal Bruno is using to receive commands, he'll just switch to another." Allie told him

"Yeah. We're not gonna jam his signal, we're gonna mess with his mind. Hey, I need Allie's help. Uh, so can you just switch with her?" Mac asked me and I looked at him

"Uh, you couldn't have mentioned the need to switch drivers before we pulled onto the road again?" I asked him

"Have you met me? I am just making this up as I go along." He tells me putting his hand on my back then I moved to the seat.

"You got it?" Allie asked me as I grabbed the wheel

"Yeah."

"Hey, would you, uh, clip and strip this coax cable for me?" I hear Mac ask her

"Yeah."

"We're gonna use it to run power to the dish." He explained

"I'm sorry."

"Look, this is not your fault. Even the best system can get hacked." He told her

"No, no. I'm not talking about Bruno. I mean, I-I am sorry about Bruno, and, you know, deeply ashamed. But I was talking about when we first met." She says and I lightly gripped the steering wheel while staying focused on the road

"Oh. Uh Don't worry about it. Because believe it or not, that's not the biggest lie you've ever told me."

"Wait. Wait. When did I lie to you?" She asked him

"Really? You know, the part where you said you liked me, but you really just wanted to sneak a peek at my plans?"

"Mac, I wasn't lying. I mean, sure, I'm competitive, like, super competitive, like, it's a problem how competitive I am. Which is why I couldn't help but take a peek at your design specs. But I wasn't lying when I said I liked you. 'Cause I did. I still do." She tells him and I gripped even harder

"Really? That's, uh I-I really don't know what to say about that right now. But umm...I'm actually seeing someone, Val actually." He brought up and I loosened my grip

"Right. Of course."

"Let's go stop your killer robot. Yeah?" He asked her and they came back up front

"So what's the game plan, Mac? You gonna kill him with pay-per-view?" I joked and he sits down

"You are not too far off. See, all computers work by moving electrons through really, really tiny little wires. So if I can create enough radio waves, a whole bunch of them, I can mess with those moving electrons."

"Corrupt Bruno's data, overload his computer and crash his network." Allie finished for him

"Exactly. And hopefully, without him crashing into anything else. But in order for this to work, we got to be within 160 feet. So you know what to do, Val."

"Go really fast." I said and sped up

* * *

"Almost in range get closer." Mac told me and I sped up a little more

"Okay, but I want to go on record that this feels like a terrible idea." I told him and he laughed

"Hey, Mac? Whoever's controlling Bruno just decided we're a threat." Allie tells us and I see the drone gun turn to us

"I hate being right sometimes." I point out

"Just keep your foot on the gas." Mac told me and I nodded, "Okay, we're in range. Allie, now!" He says and we hear pulsing and crackling then the drone slowed down and stopped then Allie got out

"Where's she going?" I asked

"I, uh, I wired this dish directly to the van's battery. But it's currently drawing more amps than we can output, so, uh once we run out of juice..."

"You're about to say "Bruno wakes up," aren't you?" I ask him

"Yeah. Keep this focused on him, all right?" He asked me and I took the dish from him and he got out

"Mac, go around the front and check the..." I hear Allie say to him then suddenly the dish stopped pulsing

"Oh that's not good." I point out and look at Mac

"Allie, get out of there before the door close.." He started to say then the doors closed as he turn around, "No! Allie! Damn it." Mac says and the drone backed up to him

"Mac!" I yell and he climbed on the hood of the van as it hit us then drove off then looked at me

* * *

Mac broke the window of a car then unlocked it, I stood there after opening the door and saw him searching his pockets then sighed, "Any chance you got a credit card on you?" He asked me and I reached into my pocket pulling it out and handing it to him then he broke it and cut the plastic off the wires as I got in

"It's gonna be okay, Mac. We're gonna get her back." I reassured him and he looked at me then grabbed my hand

"You're damn right we are. I lost Zoe, we almost lost Cage. We're not gonna lose anyone else." He said then started the car driving off after the drone

 _"Guys, we've got a big problem."_ Matty tells us

"You mean besides the hacked military combat drone headed for the Pentagon with Allie trapped inside?" I asked her

 _"Unfortunately, yes. The Air Force just scrambled three F-22s with orders to destroy Bruno on sight. You guys have, like, 20 minutes, tops, to get Allie out of there."_

"Matty, you got to call that off." Mac told her

 _"Mac I tried. Homeland Security thinks this is the best option."_ She says and I sighed

"Damn it Kevin." I mumbled and Mac looked at me

"Well, then, we got to give them a better one."

"In the next 20 minutes? And if we can't?" I asked him

"We got to hope Jack's gonna be able to find whoever's controlling Bruno before it's too late."

* * *

"Matty, was that..." Mac asked her as we see smoke off in the distance as we tried to catch up

 _"No. You still have nine and a half minutes before the F-22 is in range."_

"Okay, Mac, as Jack would say, time to be brilliant. So, what you got?" I asked him

"At this exact moment? Absolutely nothing."

 _"Guys, I have an idea. I can modify Korman's code to reinstall the kill switch and shut Bruno down for good, but I-I can't deliver the code remotely."_ Riley told us

"What does that mean?" I asked her

 _"Means you're gonna have to physically upload the code by plugging a USB drive directly into Bruno."_

"That's insane." I point out

 _"Agreed. But right now, insane is all we've got. Mac, do you think you can do this?"_ Matty asked him

"What, climb on board an out-of-control military drone and find a way inside in under nine minutes? Guess we're gonna find out." He said and sped up

* * *

"All right, download complete. I got your kill switch, Riley what now?" I asked her

 _"Just plug that USB into Bruno, it should shut him down."_ She says and Mac grabbed it from me

"You want to switch drivers in a speeding car again, don't you?" I asked him

"Unless you want to jump onto the back of a hijacked military drone at 80 miles an hour."

"No I'm good." I said and set the laptop down then climbed over to him

"Foot on the gas." He told me and I squeezed the best I could past him and into the seat and he got in the passenger

"I could totally make a comment right now but I'll keep my mouth shut." I said and he chuckled, "Be careful." I told him and he kissed my cheek then climbed out the window and jumped onto the drone

 **Mac POV...**

"Allie! Allie, can you hear me?" I asked her as I climbed to the top of the drove

"MacGyver? How did you get up there?"

"I'll explain later." I told her

"You're a lunatic, you know that?"

"Yeah, well, I'd like to remain a living lunatic, so in order to do that, I need to give you this flash drive." I said, "How do we do that?"

"Okay. There's an air vent on the back near the driver's side. I mean, if there was a driver." She pointed out

"Yep." I said and it wouldn't go through the slot so I laid on my back taking my belt off then grabbed my phone tying the belt around it, slid the phone through the vent and pulled bending the slit then put the flash-drive through, "Okay, there you go."

"Got it."

"Plug and play." I told her then held on then saw the jet fighters getting closer, "Is there, like, a status bar or anything?"

"No. No, I don't think it's gonna work!" She said then suddenly the drone powered down and stopped, "Matty, call off the air strike now! Bruno's offline. I repeat, call off the air strike now!"

 _"Air strike, abort. Repeat: Abort"_ She says and the jets fly by, _"Cut it a little closer there next time, MacGyver. Some of us are actually still breathing."_

I get down off the drone and opened the doors as Allie came out and she hugged me, "Hey, you okay?"

"You jumped out of a stolen vehicle onto a killer robot, and stared down an F-22 with orders to fire."

"Yeah, I also smashed my phone."

"Why would you do all that for me?" She asked

"Well, it's pretty simple. I don't like seeing people I care about die."

"You still care about...Even after everything I've done?" She asked

"Yes. Although, you could work on being a little bit less competitive."

"Nothing wrong with a little healthy competition." She says and lightly punched me

"The key words being "little" and "healthy." I told her and we walked away just as Val pulled up in the car and got out

"You both ok?" She asked and I hugged her

"I'm better now." I told her and she hugged me back

"Thank you for helping Val." Allie told her and Val laughed moving away from me

"Eh, he did most of the work, I just drove a really cool stolen car." She says and I chuckled

"Still though, you helped. Mac got lucky with you." Allie told her and I looked at Val

"Thanks." Val says and I put my arm around her.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Korman's been remanded for psychiatric evaluation to see if he's fit to stand trial." Matty informed us back at Phoenix

"Nothing crazy about wanting the world to be a more peaceful place." I said playing with a paper clip

"You mean except for the part where he hijacked a military drone and tried to attack the Pentagon with it to make his point?" Jack asked

"Yeah, except for that part. Shut up." I tell him

"You shut up."

"Well, however it works out in the courts, at least we know Martin Korman won't be allowed near a computer for the rest of his life." Riley pointed out

"Is it weird that I'm kind of offended that he didn't hack our drone?" Bozer asked and I put my arm around his shoulder

"Super weird." I told him

"At least we'll always have this, right?" Riley asked picking up a piece of our drone, "It's all that's left of Dalton's Nightmare before Bruno blew it up."

"So the government spent a half a million bucks on a paperweight?" Bozer asked holding it

"Trust me, it's not the worst purchase they've ever made." Matty pointed out and I smiled, "Come on, pizza's on me if anyone's hungry."

"Sure."

"I'm in. Now you're talking." We said and walked out of the room except Mac and Jack

After a little bit they walked out and everyone cheered as balloons and glitter fell down and we walked over to them then Riley put a sash around Jack, "You won by a unanimous vote, Jack." Matty told him and Bozer handed him a tiny staff

"Man, y'all didn't have to do this." Jack told us

"Oh, so you don't want the crown?" I asked him as I held it up

"You kidding me? Of course I want it." He said and I handed it to him

"Come on! Put it on, Jack!" Someone yelled and he put it on then jokingly did a parade wave as we all clapped then Mac pulled me to him kissing my head.

"You know, I think I'm actually in the mood for something other then pizza." I whispered in his ear and he looked at me, I bit my lip and he looked at everyone else.

"Let's go." He says grabbing my hand and I giggled as we left.

* * *

We got back to his place bursting through the front door kissing and pulling at each others clothes making our way to his room and he shut the door then pushed me up against it lifting me up and started to kiss my neck.

He gripped my hip and brought me over to the bed then moved his mouth from mine and traveled them from my jaw down to my neck, I moaned as he bit down on my neck lightly, gripping my fingers in his hair. Then he kissed my neck again and running his hand up my side, under my shirt and gently squeezed my breast. I moaned and gripped onto his shoulders and he lifted me up and pulled my shirt off and I moved my hands down his chest running my nails along it and he growled in my ear, I made my way to his pants and started to work on the buttons and zipper as he worked on mine. We got each others pants off and he scooted us up more on the bed, I put my hands on the back of his neck and pulled his face closer to mine.

Mac moved down from my mouth and worked his way to my breasts kissing and nibbling on the skin above my bra, as I arched my back and let out a moan he took the opportunity to unhook my bra and toss it to the side, he trailed kisses down my chest to my stomach and made his way back up. When he got back to my lips I used my strength and flipped him so I was on top and I put his hands above his head.

"It's not nice to tease." I tell him and I kissed his jaw and did the same he did to me by trailing kisses down his chest and lightly bit at it too. I heard him groan as his hard member pressed against my stomach. I made my way back up and gave him one more kiss before getting up and straddling his lap, he put his hands on my hips and I lowered myself onto him and we both let out a moan and I started to move my hips slowly and I placed my hands on his chest for balance. I picked up the pace and Mac gripped my hips tighter and helped me move while moaning my name, I tilted my head back and continued to go faster pushing him deeper into me. Next thing I knew he sat up and shifted us slightly so we were face to face and he moved one hand into my hair and the other wrapped around my waist and he pulled me into a kiss and I moaned into his mouth.

"God Val" He moaned and I smiled at him then picked up the pace more and he groaned against my neck. We worked against each other then I felt close to my release, I moved my mouth to his ear and bit down on it lightly.

"Say my name." I told him and he pulled my head back putting our foreheads against each other.

"Val...my beautiful, sexy Val." He said and I kissed his lips before biting his bottom on lightly and he pulled me closer to him and we both reached our peak. He laid down and I got off him and laid down next to him putting my head on his chest while we both caught our breath, "I think you're gonna be the death of me." He says and I giggled then looked at him.

"I think you have that reversed, seeing you be all hero like kind of turns me on." I said and he kissed me again deepening it but I stopped him, "Slow down Mac, I don't think we have the energy for round 2." I tell him and he chuckled.

"Let's get some rest then. I plan on showing you how I love you once I have strength again." He said I smiled then kissed his chest and closed my eyes falling asleep.

 **Murdoc POV...**

I walked up onto the deck of Macgyver's house whistling while looking around and I peeked in a window seeing him and my darling daughter asleep together in his bed and I chuckled.

"This is going to be very interesting."


	14. Chapter 14

**You can run, but you can't hide**

 **A/N: Alright I'm gonna go a little off here and write my own chapter that popped into my head the other day. It might be short but I'll try my hardest to make it good :)**

 **Shoutouts:**

 **followtheevidence- You got an account yay! Thank you so much for enjoying this story. I'm glad I can give you your fix until season 3 ;) Murdoc...well I wouldn't call him my favorite but he definitely does do his character well.**

 **TwinTigerLover- Thank you so much for helping me out I really do appreciate it, I try to catch all my mistakes but please feel free to let me know if I miss anything.**

 **As for everyone else please continue to read and enjoy the story.**

I woke up the next day and saw the sun shining through Mac's window, I rolled over and saw that he wasn't there. I sat up and heard the shower running so I smiled then got up and got dressed. After I got my shirt on my phone chirped, it was an unknown number so I opened the message and my heart sank. It was a picture of my grandparents tied to a chair with their mouths gagged.

 _If you want to save them come to the address I sent you. ALONE, and don't tell anyone._

The message read and I looked at the bathroom then grabbed my stuff and walked out of Mac's bedroom, "Hey Val do you want some.." I heard Bozer start to ask as I walked out but I ignored him, not trying to be rude to him but I can't risk anything right now.

* * *

I pulled up to an old warehouse and looked at the building then got out grabbing my gun and made my way into the building looking around then saw arrows spray painted on the walls so I slowly followed them seeing a door. I slowly pushed it open and saw my grandparents sitting there back to back and my grandpa looked at me and muffled my name after he saw me. I went to move to them but then something hit me on the back of the head knocking me out

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Hey Boze have you seen Val?" I asked him walking into the kitchen as he stood there making breakfast.

"Just before she left, she left in kind of a hurry too. Everything ok?"

"Yeah I just...I walked out of the bathroom and she was gone." I tell him and walked over, why would she leave?

"I don't know man," He says and I sighed.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

I slowly regained consciousness looking around then as I went to move I noticed my hands were tied to a chair at my sides and so were my feet, as I struggled I heard foot steps walk up behind me, "Oh good. You're awake." I heard a familiar voice say and I looked up seeing Murdoc walk to the front of me.

"Son of a bitch." I groaned closing my eyes

"Now is that anyway to greet your father?"

I looked at him, "You would've had to raise me and have a heart in order for me to call you that." I point out and he laughed then pulled a chair up sitting in it

"True."

"What do you want?" I asked him

"What any father wants, a chance to...reunite, if you wanna call it that, with my daughter." He said and I scoffed.

"If that were true then why are they here?" I asked indicating to my grandparents

"Leverage. You wouldn't have showed up if I had just asked you now would you?" He asked and I laughed, "Thought so, plus they are going to play a huge role in what I have planned."

"And what would that be?"

"For you to finally learn the truth." He told me and I looked at him confused.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Hey Mac have you seen Val?" Riley asked me as I walked into Phoenix

"She's not here?" I asked and she shook her head

"No. We figured she was with you after you both disappeared yesterday." She says with a smirk and I gave a small smile

"Excuse me." I told her and walked away, she wasn't here and I can't reach her on her phone. Something didn't feel right.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"What are you talking about?" I asked him and he smiled

"Well dear daughter, I'm gonna tell you a story and you're gonna finally learn the truth."

"What truth would that be? That I'm not really your daughter because that would be the best thing I've heard all day." I told him and he chuckled

"Oh ho, no you're mine, sorry." He said and I looked at my grandparents who were looking at me

"Fine, I'll play, but let's make it interesting." I told him and he grinned

"How so?"

"If you tell your story and I point out say...2 lies, you let them go." I told him looking at my grandparents.

"Interesting, now what do I get if you lose?" He asked and I closed my eyes and sighed.

"I'll tell you where Cassian is." I said and he leaned back

"Interesting gamble Valarie. Very well, you have a deal." He said and stood up walking over to my grandparents, "But I think I'll make this...a little more interesting." He tells me and lifted a blanket off of something and I feel my heart sink, "Just a little trick I learned from your boyfriends old friend, The Ghost." He pointed out and I looked at the bomb that was strapped to my grandparents, "Let the game begin."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Are you sure about this man. It doesn't feel right." Jack says as I opened the door to Val's house and closed it.

"Val?" I asked but nothing, "Yes Jack. Bozer said she left my house in a hurry, Riley hasn't seen her and she's not answering her phone. I know something's wrong." I told him and he nodded then we started to look around.

"Hey Mac," Jack called for me, "You might want to see this." He says and I walked into Val's guest room and saw what he was looking at. It was a board filled with pictures of Murdoc and a map of the world detailing every trail we had on him, "It looks like she was trying to find him." Jack pointed out

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Why did you kill my mom?" I asked Murdoc

"Well it all started many moons ago in high school, you see me and her were in love.."

"Lie." I said and he looked at me, "You aren't capable of it."

"That is exactly what your dear Angus told me. Point to you. I guess she was in love, not sure why, and like Cassian's mother I found her less repulsive, semantics. Anyways...one late night her parents, your grandparents," He indicated to them, "Were out for a "date night" leaving young Katie home by herself, she invited me over and...well I'll spare you those details." He said and I cringed, "Anyways next thing I knew she had a little...surprise 2 weeks later..."

"Lie." I point out and he looked at me

"How so?"

"When she found out she was pregnant with me you were no where to be found." I told him and he chuckled then looked at my grandparents.

"That's what you told her?" He asked and I looked at them then he faced me, "My dear Valarie. I knew about you since the moment she told me about you. So point to me" He says and I looked at him shocked feeling my gut sink then looked at my grandparents.

"He knew?" I asked them

"Val, sweetheart..."

"He knew?!" I asked again getting angry and my grandmother nodded her head, I looked down at the floor feeling just a single tear fall out

"Oh what's the matter Valarie? Shocked to learn that I knew about your past?" He asked me, "Or shocked that they lied to you?"

"What happened?"

"After I found out let's just say I was surprised. I went to talk to her dad but he warned me to stay away, from his daughter and you." Murdoc told me and I looked at my grandfather as he looked at me.

"Because you are a monster, always have been." My grandfather told him

"Careful Richard, remember what happened to the last person who called me that?" Murdoc asked him and my grandfather glared at him

"What are you talking about?" I asked Murdoc and he looked at me

"You asked me why I killed your mother. Here's why."

* * *

 **Mac POV**...

"Are you sure about this Mac?" Riley asked me as she sat in front of her laptop

"I'm sure. I have a bad feeling something's wrong." I tell her and she nodded her head and began to type. I had her activate Val's tracking device that was in her necklace, after what me and Jack found at her house I had a gut feeling this was tied to Murdoc.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"It had to have been 5 years since I had seen Katie and well I was in town for a job when I ran into her. She told me about how she was going to college to try and get her masters degree blah blah blah and she talked about...you." Murdoc told me and I looked at him confused, "After she was done I told her about how I had joined a foreign military then got in with some bad people, details, details. She looked at me with disgust, called me a monster and left. Now I don't take kindly to insults so," He stopped and clapped his hands together, "I saw her the next day heading into the library after exiting her car and I went over to it, snip snip, then hours later I stood across the street of Mr. and Mrs. Richard and Sarah Clarke's house as the police told them the news, and you wanna know what else I saw?" He asked and I looked at him tightening my jaw as I fought back tears, "I saw a little girl, no more then 5 years old...holding her teddy bear looking out the window at the flashing lights with curiosity on her face and do you know what I felt? Nothing." He said and I lunged forward screaming but he just laughed, "Easy now, wouldn't want to hurt yourself." He told me and I sat back in the chair as the tears fell, "Now I do believe we are tied." He says and I glare at him.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

" I got something," Riley says and she put an image up on the screen, it was Val getting out of her car, "This footage is from a traffic camera across the street from the building Val walked into

"Where is it?" Jack asked her

"Well according to this her tracker is pinging 5 blocks away from this video footage."

I sighed and put my head down then looked back up, "She knew I would try and track it." I pointed out

"Okay but why have it still going at all? Let alone 5 blocks away from where she is?" Bozer asked

"Because she knew we would track her but maybe Murdoc told her to come alone or something and she ditched the necklace in the perfect range for us to find her." I mentioned, "Riley is there anyway to pin point which warehouse it is?" I asked her and she typed

"The traffic light is located on E 45th St."

"Let's go." Jack said then me and him left.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"So how do we break the tie? You obviously didn't stop me to point a lie out so...what's the lie?" Murdoc asked me and I thought about it

"The teddy bear. I never had a teddy bear stuffed animal." I told him and he chuckled

"Oooh sweet child of mine. You did have a teddy bear, wanna know how I know?" He asked and leaned forward, "Because I sent it to you after you were born." He says and my blood turned to ice as I looked at him, "Oooh zing!" He yells and stood up clapping, "You almost had me but...you lost." He says and I look at my grandparents as they cried, "Now!" He sat back in front of me, "We had a deal. Cassian?" He asked and I sniffled then closed my eyes then looked at him.

"32487 N Bunker Hill Ave." I told him with my voice breaking trying to play it off and he looked at me

"Now how do I know if you're telling the truth?"

"Because, you won. Just promise me you won't hurt him." I tell him and he smiled

"I would never hurt him." He said and stood up, "Well, this has been great but now," He held up a remote and pressed a button making the counter on the bomb attached to my grandparents count down, "I think I'll go get my son. I would say I'll see you soon but...That would be a lie." He tells us and left then I struggled in the chair trying to figure out a way to get my hands free.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"There's her car." I point out to Jack and he stopped

"Matty, we found Val's car we need a team here now." Jack said and I got out then ran over to it, "Mac!" Jack yelled and I looked around the vehicle

"There's nothing here we have to go in." I told him

"What we need to do is wait for backup, if it is Murdoc he is gonna have a play in motion and we will get caught in it as well as Val.

 _"Help!"_ We hear someone yell from inside the building and I looked at Jack

"All right, let's go." He said and cocked his gun then we headed into the building

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Help!" I yelled trying to get my hands free.

"Val, sweetie..." My grandmother started to say but I cut her off

"No. We are getting out of here I promise, I just need to..." I tried to use the chair and cut the rope but it was to tight around my wrists

"Val?" I heard Mac yell and my heart raced

"Mac? Mac! We're down here!" I told him and heard footsteps behind me then Mac appeared by my side

"Val, are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Mac please go help them Murdoc attached them to a bomb." I told him

"I got her." I hear Jack say and Mac rushed over to them while Jack started to undo my hands. Once I was free I ran over to them

"Val stop!" Mac warned me holding up his hand and I stopped.

"What, what is it?"

"Their on a pressure plate." He told me and my gut sank while my heart ached

"What?" I asked and knelt down next to him

"If you step on there it's just gonna add more wait to it making it harder to disarm."

"Val," My grandmother said and I slowly moved to her reaching over and grabbing her hand

"It's ok, Mac is gonna get you both out of here." I told them and grabbed my grandfathers hand trying to fight tears

"Sweetie, We are so sorry that we lied to you, we just.."

"Don't," I said cutting her off again, "I understand, I do and I'm not mad. You were just doing what was best for me, you always have." I tell them and my voice broke, "And I love you for that." Tears started to fall out of my eyes and I looked at Mac, "Mac?" I asked him and he looked at me.

"I'm trying, I promise it's just...this is different then any pressure plate I've ever seen."

"Wait, Murdoc me that he got the inspiration for this from The Ghost." I told him and he looked at me

"Damn it." He groaned then looked at it again

"Valarie," My grandmother says and I looked at her, "I just want you to know that you were the best granddaughter anyone could ever ask for." She tells me

"Don't. Don't say that like a goodbye, Mac will..."

"Sweetie we have to," My grandfather says, "Not that I don't trust Angus's skills but if he can't get us out we need to tell you that we love you, we always will, your mother would be so proud of you, just like we are. We want you to make us a promise. Don't let this change you, don't seek revenge on him because it'll get you killed. Stay safe for us, and Angus," He said and Mac looked at him, "You take care of our girl, ok? You protect her even if she won't let you. She gets that stubbornness from her mom." My grandfather told him and Mac looked at me

"I always will." He said and got back to work.

"I love you both...so much." I tell them and they both kissed my hands, "And I am so sorry." I said through tears

"It's not your fault, he did this, not you. Got it? Do not blame yourself." My grandmother told me and I nodded my head.

"Mac?" I asked him and just as he was about to say something we heard a click then saw the timer counting down faster, "Mac?"

"I don't know I didn't do anything." He said and we looked around the pressure plate then I saw it

"A rusted spring broke." I told him and he looked where I was

"Val. I'm so sorry." He told me and I looked at him then my grandparents

"No." I grabbed their hands again and they kissed them, "No."

"Val, sweetie. Go, go!" My grandmother told me

"No"

"Angus get her out of here." My grandfather said and I saw that there was only 3 minutes left. Suddenly I feel someone grab my waist from behind

"No! No!" I yelled and looked to see Jack pulling me away, "Jack let me go! No!" I yelled and he pulled me out of the room then I ran with them outside when the building blew up knocking us off our feet. After a moment I looked back at the building then cried feeling Mac wrap his arms around me.

"I'm so sorry Val. I'm so sorry." He told me but I just watched the flames of the building as I cried into his shoulder.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

I stood off in the distance watching Val stand by two headstone markers after the service for her grandparents. She completely shut down after they died and it broke me seeing her so broken. I felt guilty, so guilty that I gave her the space she needed while she healed. I feel someone put their hand on my shoulder and I look at Jack then turned to see Val walking towards us, she walked past and got in the car, I followed getting in the drivers side as Jack got in the back then we drove off.

* * *

"Thank you so much for coming, I'm sorry it was cut short." I told a guest shaking their hand and they nodded then walked out and I closed the join.

"That the last one?" Jack asked me as I walked into the living room of Val's grandparents house.

"Yeah. I just.. I figured she wouldn't want to see anyone right now so.."

"Hey, it's gonna be ok." Riley told me and I gave her a small smile.

"How long has she been up there?" Bozer asked me

"Since we got back, I don't even know when she ate last." I said and looked up the stairs, "Maybe I should.."

"I'll go," Jack said cutting me off, "No offense but she may just need a friend right now, not her boyfriend." He told me and I nodded as he walked up stairs.

* * *

 **Jack POV...**

"Val?" I asked lightly knocking on the door, "It's Jack. May I come in?" I asked but there was no answer so I slowly opened the door and peeked inside the room where the only light source was the sun shining through the closed curtain and I saw Val sitting on the bed so I walked over then sat down next to her. I don't know how long we sat there for but the silence was killing me, "Val. I know there's nothing I can say that will make you feel better or make the pain you're feeling go away but I want you to know that we are all here for you whenever you're ready." I told her and she stayed quiet staring forward, "Did I ever tell you about the time my pops took me to an air show?" I asked but she stayed quiet, "Well I was 11 he took me to this military air show in Dallas. You should have seen the planes they flew around I mean..." I chuckled and still got nothing, "Anyways, my pops put me up on his shoulders and I saw the planes take off, land back down and it was the best day of my life. So my point is, is that they may be gone, my pops may be gone, but that's what the memories are for, to hold onto to them in your heart."

But what if it hurts to remember?" She asked me and I looked at her but she continued looking forward

"It's suppose to, I know you were to young to remember your mom, but that's why it's important to hold to the memories with your grandparents, and like I said, we are all here for you when you're ready." I told her and she sniffled then grabbed my hand

"It hurts."

"I know," I told her and pulled her into a hug, "I know." I rubbed her back as she cried into my shoulder.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

Jack finally convinced me to come downstairs so I walked down with him and the other turned to look at me and I looked at Mac, I knew he was feeling guilty for what happened but I didn't blame him. I walked over to everyone and sighed, "I..." I started to say but stopped and sighed, "I'm gonna need help getting back." I told them and Mac hugged me as the others walked over.

"You got it, no matter what." Mac tells me and I wrapped my arms around him as the others put their hands on my back and Jack grabbed my hand. It did hurt, so much, but Jack's right I still have family, this family. I needed to grieve and then I would get closer to being ok, and I could catch that son of a bitch and make him pay.

 **A/N: I would also liek to mention that I have a Pinterest board set up for this story and all the other stories I've written so feel free to check it out**

 **hilaryh21**

 **I hope you enjoyed this filler chapter.**


	15. Chapter 15

**You can run, but you can't hide**

 **Mac POV...**

"So, dinner's going great, man. She's laughing, I'm laughing." Jack tells me as we walked through the doors into work, "Then about halfway through, Bruce Willis's name comes up. I'm not really sure how."

"I could imagine why."

"So, she looks at me deadpan straight-faced and goes, "Bruce Willis? Was that the old guy from The Expendables?"

"Did she say it like that?" I asked him

"It's not how she said it, it's what she said."

"And what'd you say?" I asked

"I said, "Check, please."

"Hold on. No second date?" I ask him

"No way."

"All right. No. Stop." I told him and we stopped walking, "You got to stop doing this."

"Stop doing what?"

"Coming up with ridiculous reasons to stop dating people." I told him

"That's not a ridiculous reason."

"Okay, let me put it this way. How many dates have you been on the last year?" I ask him

"I don't know, man. I ain't counting. But my Tinder profile is pretty en fuego."

"How many have been second dates?" I asked

"Not that many."

"Look, we both know what happened this time last year." I point out

"What?" He asked and I looked at him, "Oh, come on, Mac. This has nothing to do with that."

"Really? Your clear refusal to even try and have a meaningful connection with a woman over the last year has nothing to do with Sarah getting married, which, coincidentally, was just over a year ago?"

"Nope." He says and I sighed

"Sarah is happily married, man. And you still won't let yourself move on."

"Hey, I'm moving on just fine. Don't you worry about that, okay? It's not my fault that most of the women I've met recently don't have that special something. I'm not that picky. All she has to do is be smart and beautiful. And-and know some Krav Maga and be able to handle herself in a firefight. You know, that's a real asset." He explained

"No one is ever going to be Sarah, but comparing everyone else in the world to her is unfair to them, and more importantly, it's unfair to you."

"What do I need a girlfriend for anyway, man? I mean we all can't get lucky like you who has Val." He said and I looked down, "And neither does Bozer. We get to do what we want, when we want. Bachelors ain't got to answer to nobody, man. It's awesome." He said then looked at me, "Speaking of Val. How is she doing?" He asked and I looked away

"I don't know, Matty gave her as much time as she needed and she comes over every now and then because she doesn't want to be alone but...she's still hurting."

"Yeah, I bet. It's never easy losing someone you care about. Especially not at the hands of that psycho father of hers." He said and I sighed

"I'm just trying to help her as best as I can." I tell him and he put his hand on my shoulder.

"She'll be ok, she just needs to grieve her own way." He says and we walk to the war room.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

I stood there and continued punching the bag at the gym and kicked it then punched it again and his face kept popping into my head. I punched the bag harder and harder as I kept seeing him, sitting there and smiling at me, telling me everything.

 _I knew about you since the moment she told me about you._

I remembered him saying and I punched even harder ignoring the pain in my fists

 _I saw a little girl, no more then 5 years old...holding her teddy bear looking out the window at the flashing lights with curiosity on her face and do you know what I felt? Nothing_

I kicked the bag then punched it again and again

 _"The teddy bear. I never had a teddy bear stuffed animal." I told him and he chuckled_

 _"Oooh sweet child of mine. You did have a teddy bear, wanna know how I know?" He asked and leaned forward, "Because I sent it to you after you were born."_

I punched the bag again then fell against it and slowly sat on the ground as the tears fell out of my eyes, I pulled my knees to my chest then put my head in my hands and cried. He knew about me, before I was even born, he knew. I keep telling myself it doesn't matter anyways, he's still the heartless psychopath that murdered my mom and now my grandparents. Now no matter what I had to protect my little brother, sooner of later Murdoc will figure out that I gave him a fake address, that is if he even went to it, and when he does he'll come for me, and I'll be ready.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Hey, what's up? Bam!" Jack said as we walked into the war room and looked at Matty, "Ooh. Mama looks pissed."

"Excuse me?" Matty asked him

"Well, I'm just saying, you don't look as-as sunshiny as usual."

"Okay, I would like for you to switch to your inner voice now." She told him

"Okay."

"I'm serious, Jack." She says

"All right. What's going on?"

"Yeah, is this about Murdoc?" I asked her

"I wish, but unfortunately, it's about another notorious figure from the past."

"Who?" Jack asked her

"Someone I thought I'd buried a decade ago." She tells him, "Duke Jacoby."

"Ooh, no way. How is that even possible?" Jack asked

"Wait. Am-am I supposed to know who this person is or.." Riley began to ask

"Yeah. What is he? A drug dealer? Gunrunner? Is he a mercenary?" I asked cutting her off

"Depends on the day of the week." Matty said and brought the photo up of Jack

"Uh, why does Duke Jacoby have Jack's face?" Bozer asked

"It's one of my old CIA covers, Bozer." Jack told him

"After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was basically the Wild West, so while law enforcement was busy reinstating order in the streets..." Matty began to say but JAck cut her off

"Duke was sent in to keep an eye on all the sinister activity going on in and around the Port of New Orleans."

"With Duke's help, the Agency was able to disrupt over 100 criminal and terrorist plots." Matty finished

"Yeah. I mean, he was one of the best CIA covers, like, ever." Jack says

"He was also one of the most expensive CIA covers, like, ever." Matty pointed out, "So much so that the top brass considered having him assassinated. They called it Operation Budget Cuts." Matty mentioned

"Well, by that point, I almost wish they did kill him off. I-I hated being that guy."

"Okay, but if Jack is Duke, and Jack is here, then how exactly has Duke resurfaced in New Orleans?" Bozer asked Matty

"I don't know, Bozer, but two days ago, someone started reactivating Duke's digital footprint in NOLA Opening new bank accounts, unfreezing old credit cards, accessing his DMV records."

"How'd this person get all this info on a CIA cover? And what are they planning on doing with it?" Riley asked

"Well, that is exactly what I'm taking Mac and Jack to New Orleans to find out."

"You're coming with us?" I asked her

"That's how serious this is."

"All right." Jack says

"Riley, I need you here, combing through both the Phoenix and CIA networks. Find out if someone hacked in and stole Duke's info." Matty told her

"Okay."

"I'll be sure to bring you back some beignets, Riley." Bozer says to her

"Actually, Bozer, you're staying here to work on another assignment. Then you'll assist Riley in the war room." Matty told him

"Mm!"

"So I guess you can pick us up some donuts." Riley says to him

"All right, people, we've got work to do. Mac, Jack, wheels up in 20."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

I stood in the attic of my grandparents house looking around and sighed then walked over to a few boxes looking through them. I had no idea what I was gonna go with their stuff now, or this house, I could sell it but I grew up here. There's a whole bunch of memories tied to this house, the door in the hallway closet where my grandma kept track of how tall I was getting, the old tire swing in the back that my grandpa put up and swung me on, the oak tree outback that I would sit under and read on the nice days, the day I brought Mac here to meet them.

 _"Hello?" I called as me and Mac entered the front door of my grandparents house_

 _"Valarie?" My grandmother asked then walked into the entry way, "Hi sweetie!" She says and hugged me_

 _"Hi Grandma."_

 _"Is that my Valarie I heard?" My grandpa asked and joined us_

 _"Hi Grandpa." I said and hugged him_

 _"Valarie. Who is this young man?" My grandma asked and I smiled_

 _"Grandma, Grandpa. This is Mac. Or well Angus Macgyver but everyone calls him Mac." I introduced_

 _"It's nice to finally meet both of you," Mac said and held his hand out for my grandpa who shook it, "Val has told me so many great things about you."_

 _"Like wise Angus. Please come in and have a seat." My grandpa told us and we sat down in the living room._

 _"Would you like something to drink?" My grandma asked us_

 _"I'm good for now but thank you." Mac told her then she looked at me and I shook my head and she sat down across from us_

 _"So Angus. How did you and Valarie meet?" My grandpa asked him_

 _"From work."_

 _"At the think tank?" My grandma asked him_

 _"Yes ma'am."_

 _"What do you do there?" My grandpa asks him_

 _"Engineering mostly."_

 _"And how old are you?" My grandma asked_

 _"27."_

 _"Guys what's with the 20 questions?" I asked them a smile_

 _"We just want to know more about the man in your life is that so wrong?" My grandpa asked me_

 _"No, but..."_

 _"It's ok, I don't mind." Mac tells me cutting me off grabbing my hand and I smiled at him_

 _"See?" My grandma says and I chuckled, "Valarie has never brought home a boyfriend before so you can see why she's nervous." She tells him_

 _"Grandma!" I laughed then they all did._

As all these memories flooded back to me while I continued. I opened a box up and saw some of my childhood toys in it, that wasn't what stopped me though, I found it, the teddy bear, the one Murdoc told me he sent me after I was born. I picked it up and held it then I remembered the night he was talking about, the night my mom died, I squeezed the teddy bear then threw across the room and sat down on the ground crying again, I just couldn't stop. It hurt so much and I felt so much anger at the same time, I was suppose to keep them safe and now look what happened, I'm standing in an old attic going through boxes trying to figure out what to do.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Man, it's weird being back here. I was really hoping Duke had said good-bye to this place for good." Jack says to me and Matty while we walk down the streets of New Orleans

"You've been checking over your shoulder ever since we got here. I'm guessing Duke had some enemies." I point out

"You know that old-school white pages phone book I have at my house?" He asked me

"Yeah. The one that I told you to get rid of because it's pretty much useless."

"Yeah. That's the one. Well, Duke made enough enemies to fill two of 'em. Just showing my face around here is a risk."

"Okay, to be fair, Dalton, showing your face anywhere is a risk." Matty says to him

"I'm just saying."

"Okay, now where are you taking us?"

"I'm taking you right to the source." He tells us and we see a voodoo shop and walk in

"I call upon the spirits of the beyond and ask that they give me the power of sight!" The man says to the patrons inside and shoots a small bit of fire out of his hands

"You can drop the act, Willy. You ain't fooling anybody. Except for maybe these yahoos." Jack tells him

"Show's over. Everyone out." Willy tells them and they leave then he puts a knife to Jack's neck

"You have got a lot of nerve coming in here, Jacoby."

"I'm still quicker with a blade than you are, old man." Jack says to him then they start to laugh and the guy put the knife down, "Hey, you old salty dog." Jack said and hugged him

"How are you, Duke?"

"I'm doing good. Good to see you. Guys, this is Willy." Jack introduced, "He is king of the Big Easy underground. Nothing goes on in this town without him knowing about it, and more often than not, he's got a piece of the action, ain't that right?"

"Well, a man's got to eat, Duke." Willy tells him and I looked down at his hands studying them, "Uh, can I help you?" He asked me

"Sorry. I was just trying to see how you made the flame so big, but now I see the modified butane lighters and the flash powder for a kick, yeah? Underneath the sleeves. That's what I would've done."

"Uh, who the hell is this, Duke?" Willy asked Jack

"Well, these two are my associates, Will."

"Are you in town long, man?" Willy asked him

"Only long enough to find out who's been running around town pretending to be me. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"Well, I would love to help you out, Duke, but first, there's the small matter of the five grand you owe me from that business with the Dominicans." Willy told him and Jack pulled out some money

"Right. Here you go."

"I see now why you haven't mentioned this place before, Duke." Matty pointed out

"Just tell us what you know, will you?" Jack asked him

"I'm sorry, Duke. I-I wish I knew something, but I haven't seen anybody pretending to be you."

"Copy that. Thanks. It's good to see you. Let's go." Jack tells us and we start to leave

"However, I did see your wife, and, man, she's a knockout." Willy says and we stop then look back at him

"Yeah, thanks, buddy. She's a real peach, huh? You haven't seen her around, have you? Yes, I'd like to find her right now." Jack says

"I imagine Dixie Lee's at your new place, Duke. You do remember where your new place is, right? Because if, by some odd chance, you've forgotten your own address, I'd be happy to remind you for a small fee, of course."

"Of course. You know, I'm a little a little light." Jack said and snapped his fingers, "Matty, give me a little scratch, will you?"

* * *

"Looks like Mrs. Jacoby is not home." I said to Jack and Matty unlocking the front door of the house after breaking in through the window

"Really?" Jack asked

"That's a shame. I was really looking forward to meeting the old ball and chain." Matty says

"Yeah. Me, too." Jack added

"Look what I found." I tell them pointing to a laptop with a some new phones next to it

"Well, now we know what she's been doing with Duke's good credit." Matty mentioned and handed me a USB drive and I sit down putting it in the computer, "Riley, you're up."

 _"Whoa, this computer's so brand-new, there's next to nothing on it."_

"Well, "next to nothing" isn't nothing." I point out

 _"It sure isn't. I just found a hidden folder of financial, DMV and IRS info, all belonging to Duke Jacoby."_

"That's great, Ri. But we already knew Dixie Lee had that stuff on Duke." Jack tells her

 _"Okay, Jack, but what about the other 16?"_

"What?" Me and Matty asked at the same time

 _"I just found 16 more hidden folders, containing info on 16 other CIA cover identities. I'm sending them over now, Matty."_ She tells us and Matty's phone chimed

"Some of these are still active.

"Well, that means we're looking at a much bigger breach than we originally thought." Jack said

"Whoever Dixie is, we need to find her now, before she gets a whole bunch of undercover CIA operatives killed." I add

* * *

 **Val POV...**

Are you sure you want to do this?" The lawyer asked me as I sat across from him

"I'm sure. I know they left it to me but I just...I can't live there. It should go to a nice family that can make their own memories in it."

"Ok then, if you're sure then I just need you to sign here." He says and I grabbed the pen then hesitated before signing my name, "All right. That takes care of that. Now there's the other thing they left to you. A trust fund in your name that you would receive in the time of their..."

"Death?" I asked him and he nodded

"Apparently they started it when you were born so it grew interest over the years." He says and slid the paper over to me, I looked at the number and I was speechless

"75,000 dollars?" I asked with shock and he nodded his head, "I just.." I started to say but I stopped, "Look. I just...I don't know what I would do with all of that so...is there I can split it?"

He looked at me confused, "Split it?" He asked and I nodded my head, "How?"

"Can I put it in another trust account?"

"For yourself?" He asked and I shook my head

"No. For my brother."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Man, we have searched every inch of this place, and all we've learned about my better half is that she has kick-ass taste." Jack pointed out

"Does she, though?" Matty asked him

"I don't know. It's not really my thing, but..."

"More importantly, why would an operative who just stole 17 CIA cover I.D.s risk this big of a footprint?" I asked

"Maybe that was part of her plan. She suspected Duke was a CIA cover, she poses as his spouse, starts making noise to see who will show up."

"Well, if this is a trap, then we've already walked into it. Look, I want to know who this lady is and where she is right now. Riley?" Matty asked

 _"I'm working on it. But I'm having a little trouble. There's not a single active cell phone registered to either Mr. or Mrs. Jacoby."_

"Well, can you track her credit card purchases?" I asked her

 _"I could, but she didn't make any purchases with Duke's credit cards. She used them to take out cash advances at ATMs. And before you ask about the ATM cameras, she blocked them. Every last one of them."_

"She sounds like a pro. How much cash did the missus take?" Jack asked

 _"Just north of 50 grand."_

"50 grand isn't exactly walking around cash." I point out

"No, it is not." Jack says

"Dixie's got a hiding spot in this house somewhere. We got to find it." I said and picked up a speaker, "Jack, I need your cell phone."

"Huh? It's brand-new."

"You heard me." I told him

"Jack." Matty warned

"There's three phones sitting right there. And she is my wife, so technically they're half mine. Just use one of those."

"Okay, number one, those phones are evidence. Number two, she's not really your wife. And number three, give Mac your damn phone." Matty told him

"Yeah, yeah, one, two, three, break Jack's phone, I get it."

"Oh, I'm gonna need a broom." I mentioned

"What, are we gonna clean the place?" Jack asked

"Go get it." Matty tells him

"So, ever since 2004, all U.S. currency has been printed using metallic ink. So, more bills..." I started to explain while I took Jack's phone apart and looked at Jack with a smile

"You don't got to smile while you're breaking it."

"Sorry. Means more metal. Now, if we can attach the Hall effect sensor from your phone to this radio speaker, " I said and took the broom from Jack, "Thank you. We should have our own makeshift metal detector." I tell them and held the detector up to the laptop and it beeps so I began to look all over the house

"How long is this gonna take?" Jack asked as I searched the drawers in the kitchen then the detector went off after I put it in another drawer

"Got something." I said and took the stuff out then opened the secret compartment in the door and dumped the envelope of cash and photos on the counter

"What?" Jack asked and I picked some photos

"Hello, Mrs. Jacoby."

"Let me see that." Jack said and I handed him the pictures

"Ay, Chihuahua, yes, please. You know, Duke's the one with kick-ass taste."

"Riley, sending you a picture now of the woman who is not Jack's wife." I tell her and snapped a photo

"Yeah, but has serious potential."

 _"Running facial recognition against all databases."_ She says and there was a pause, _"Got her. Dixie Lee Jacoby's real name is Darlene Hagen, born February 19._ _Oh, I spoke too soon. I'm looking at seven I.D.s from seven states with seven different names, all with the same face."_

"Who is this woman?" Jack asked

"That's a good question." Matty said

 _"I don't know about the who, but I might be able to help you with the where. She's not on any law enforcement databases. I've been running her face against all the security cams and social media posts in New Orleans. I got her walking into a jazz club on Royal 20 minutes ago. I'm sending the address now."_

"All right." I said and we stood there

"Bounce." Matty ordered us

"Yeah."

"Yes, ma'am. A-And technically, that-that's half mine." Jack told her

* * *

Me and Jack walked into the jazz club and I kind of gave a small smile, Val would love it here, she would love this whole town actually. I might just have to bring her here someday

"Well, cover me. I'm gonna go introduce myself to my wife." Jack told me and walked away so I sat down at a table

"Uh, bourbon. Neat. Please. And would you refill this lovely young lady's glass again for me?" Jack asked the bartender

"Thanks, but I prefer to pay for my own poison."

"Yeah, if that were true, you wouldn't be here drinking on my dime." He says and she turned to face him then slowly tried to get up but Jack stopped her, "No, no, no. Wait, wait, hang on now. Just relax. Relax. Don't you want to have a little drinky-poo with your hubby?"

"What are we drinking to?" She asked him

"To your last days as a free woman."

"You're even cuter in person," She tells him, "I like the way you do your hair."

"Oh, is that your play? Cheap compliments? Then you bat those eyelashes, and you head for the door, is that it?" Jack asked her

"Wouldn't be the first time that little combo got me out of a jam. Besides, if you really wanted to turn me in, you would've brought cops. So, what do you want, sugar?"

"Answers. You can start with your name and who you work for." Jack says

"My name you're gonna have to earn. And who says I work for anyone?"

"Come on, you lifted 17 I.D.s. You expect me to believe you did all that on your own?" Jack asked

"I'm a woman of many talents."

"I bet."

"Another one for you, Ms. Jackoby?" The bartender asked her

"It's Jac.."

"It's Jacoby." She and Jack corrected at the same time but she finished, "Another round for me and my husband. And keep the change."

"Ooh. Wow. Just like that. Right in front of me. Okay."

"Why have money if you're not gonna spend it?" She asked Jack

"Mmm, Ms. Jacoby, you are a cute one, I'll give you that much." He tells her

"Thank you."

"But I think you're a plain old con artist who's in way over her head." He pointed out

"I think we both know there's nothing old or plain about me."

"Listen, Dixie Or whatever your name is Playtime is over. Okay? This is serious business. You're gonna have to tell me right now how you got my identity and the 16 others. For your own safety. You understand?" Jack asked her

"You know, most marks only care about their bank balance How much money they've lost, if they're gonna get it back. And no one's ever followed me in person, let alone this fast."

"Just tell me how you got the I.D.s." He says

"And now that I think about it, there was something off about the paper trail on you and your 16 friends. Zero fraud claims, not even a late payment. It was a little too clean, a little too perfect."

"What can I say? I'm a responsible guy." Jack told her

"Oh, come on, sugar. We both know that's not true. I may be just a plain old con artist, but you ain't Duke Jacoby because Duke Jacoby doesn't exist. So, why don't you start by telling me what your real name is?" She asked him and I saw some men walk in and held up a picture

"Duke, you got some fans looking for you. Front door." I tell him then see Dixie knee him in the groin then take off so we follow her out the back door then down the stairs just then we get shot at

"Go!" Jack tells me as we run

"Friends of yours?" I asked him

"Yeah, Duke didn't really have friends. You know what I'm saying?" Jack said and we get to the stree but I stop as a street car goes by and I look up at the wires for it and Jack turned around

"Go get Dixie. I got these guys." I told him and he took off as I grabbed a metal chain the swung it up onto the wire causing sparks making the men stop and I looked at them before running after Jack but I see him and Dixie get put into the trunk of a car and it took off, "Matty. We got a problem. Someone just stole a lot more then Duke's identity."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Knock knock." I heard someone say and I turned around seeing Riley standing at the opened front door of my grandparents house as I was packing things up.

"Hi." I tell her and continued packing

"How are you doing?"

"Well I'm packing up my childhood home so that another family can move in and packing up everything to put into storage." I told her and packed some more things into a box.

"Selling it? It's such a nice house."

"I know but...there's to many memories. It's time for a new family to move in and make their own memories." I said and taped up the box

"I see well...I just came by to see how you were doing, maybe get some lunch?"

"Maybe some other time. I have to wait for the Realtor to get here then I have to go meet with the bank. My grandparents left me 75,000 dollars." I told her

"Wow, that's...what are you gonna do with all of that?"

"Well," I sighed and sat down on the arm of the couch, "I'm meeting with a banker to put half of the money into a trust fund...for Cassian." I told her

"Oh, that's..."

"Weird?" I asked her and she gave me a small smile

"A little, but I guess I should ask why?"

"Because he's my little brother, Murdoc was pretty much setting him up with all his hit money but all that's gone so I want to make sure Cassian will be set if anything...happens to me." I explained

"I see. Well I think that's great. I really do." She says and I nodded then she walked over and hugged me, "I'll talk to you later ok, and if you need anything just call."

"Thanks Riley" I told her and she left so I got back to work

 **Riley POV...**

I walked out of the house and headed down the steps when I saw the Realtor put the for sale sign up in the yard so I walked up to her, "Excuse me, could I see one of those?" I asked indicating to the flyer and she handed me one then walked into the house and I pulled out my phone.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Who is this guy?" Matty asked indicating to the guy I hand tied to a chair

"No clue. But someone sent him and eight others to grab Jack and our fake Mrs. Jacoby. In all the excitement, this guy got left behind. And from what I've heard about Duke, I think it's a safe bet that whoever sent these guys is not a friend."

"Great. Which means we have yet another problem. Because it's only a matter of time before Duke's better half realizes she's sitting on one hell of a bargaining chip." Matty mentioned

"17 freshly stolen CIA identities could fetch millions on the black market. Yes. So first things first: let's I.D. sleeping beauty here." I said and took a picture, "Riley?"

 _"All right, let's see who you are. Well, first, there's too many hits, now there's too few. Sorry, guys, all I can tell you is this guy doesn't have a criminal record or a driver's license."_

"Would you like to rouse our guest?" Matty asked me

"My pleasure." I said and began to walk away

"Where you going?"

"I was gonna go make some smelling salts." I told her

"Oh, never mind, Goldilocks. I'll just do it the old-fashioned way." She says and slapped the guy across the face, "Hey, sleepyhead. How you feeling? Where did you take Duke Jacoby?"

 _"Hey, Matty. Sorry to interrupt, but at spy school, we learned an interrogation technique for situations like this. You start by going into his mental space and then you want to..."_

"Bozer. You do realize that I wrote that entire curriculum, right?" Matty asked cutting Bozer off then stepped on the guys foot, he groaned in pain then said something in a different language, "That's Albanian, and so is he. Riley, pull up everything about the Albanian mob in Duke's file."

"Okay."

"Oh, and Bozer, here's a tip: whenever you're in pain, you always revert to your mother tongue. You might want to write that down." Matty told him

 _"Well, I see a long list of dirtballs who despise Duke, but nothing about any Albanians."_ Riley tells us

 _"So how do we find Jack?"_ Bozer asked and I thought about it

"He may not be able to tell us where Jack is, but he might be able to show us."

* * *

"Maybe now would be a good time for you to let me in on what you're doing." Matty says to me as I mix up the chemicals

"I'm coating the cuffs in a mixture of selenium powder, cadmium oxide, and good old muriatic acid. When blended together, they cause a reaction that emits a light at a wavelength that can only be seen by infrared cameras."

"Like, say, the IR camera in one of our keyhole satellites?" Matty asked

"Exactly. So, now, all we got to do is slide these cuffs on our large friend over there, let him think that he's escaped, and then he's either gonna run to the nearest airport or..."

"Straight back to his boss, who's holding Jack and Dixie," Matty finished, "Okay. It's a long shot. But 50/50 odds are a hell of a lot better than nothing."

"Got to make this look convincing, so step one is letting him know we're gonna be moving him to a more secure location, which will motivate him..." I started to say but we heard the guy grunt and I saw him start to run

"Sounds like your friend just skipped step one." Matty says and I tackled him to the ground then as he got up I pushed him against the wall getting the cuffs on one hand but before I could get the other one he hit me in the gut then threw me through the window and took off

"Well, did you get the cuffs on him?" Matty asked me

"Barely. And don't worry about me, Matty, I'll be fine." I said sarcastically

"Good. Riley, you're up. Get us an eye in the sky."

* * *

 _"Okay, Mac's infrared handcuffs are doing the trick. Our Albanian friend just turned right on Tulane Avenue."_ Bozer told us

 _"But Mac was right about the chemical tags wearing off. Color's fading fast. I don't think we're gonna be able to track him much longer."_ Riley adds

"This guy's our best hope at finding Jack. I need you to pinpoint his position now." Matty told them

 _"Well, either Riley just jinxed us and the tag wore off, or he just ran into a building on Pierce Street."_ Bozer says and we arrive at the building as SWAT went in then we followed and walked over to Dixie

"I sincerely hope y'all are friends with my husband."

"Where is he?" I asked her

"I don't know. But I know somebody's paying a million dollars to kill him. And I might be able to help you figure out who. So how about we make a deal?"

* * *

"Okay, according to Dixie, the Albanians are selling Jack to a couple of brothers he left in a swamp. Let's hope Duke put something about them in the files." Riley says

 _"Bet Jack never thought his life would hinge on his ability to fill out paperwork."_ Bozer pointed out

 _"Matty, I think we got a hit. In 2009, Duke was transporting two Brazilian smugglers through the bayou at night, when, quote, "Things went kind of sideways, due to nobody's fault in particular, and I wound up tossing 'em both in the drink." Ooh."_

"Do these smugglers have a name?" Matty asked

 _"Matheus and Gustavo Barbosa. They blew into New Orleans after the hurricane and put down roots."_ Bozer told us

 _"It looks like they've expanded from smuggling to real estate. They're buying up properties all over the city Vacant lots, abandoned houses, a couple of car washes, a cemetery."_ Riley added

"A cemetery? If I was gonna kill someone and hide the evidence, that would do the trick." I point out

* * *

 _"Okay, Mac, SWAT's in place, and they're not gonna move until I give them the green light. If our targets suspect anything suspicious, they can kill Dalton on-site. Any signs of the Albanians or Brazilians?"_ Matty asked me over comm as I walked through the cemetery with some flowers and it brought me back to Val's grandparents funeral, since the day I met them they accepted me as part of the family and it made me extremely happy because I knew that it meant a lot to Val. I haven't called her at all since we got here to see how she was doing, but I couldn't focus on that right now. Right now I needed to save Jack

"No. Everyone is resting peacefully on my end. But this place is huge, and we still don't know if this is where the deal is going down for sure." I tell her then saw a car drive by, "Matty, I got eyes on the Albanians. Headed for the south exit." I said and set the flowers down then followed the car.

"Don't move! Put your hands on the wheel! Where I can see 'em!" I hear SWAT yell after they stopped the car and I caught up to them

"Where is he? Duke. Where's Duke?" I asked the one Albanian

"Don't know anyone by that name."

"Where did the Barbosas take him?" I asked

 _"Uh, Mac, there's a crazy heat plume that just popped up on the sat feed. It's in the southwest corner of the cemetery."_ Riley tells me

"Crematorium."

* * *

 _"Mac, what are you doing? SWAT's mobilizing an assault now."_ Matty told me as I got into the Albanians car and started to drive backwards

"Jack can't wait, Matty. Incinerator's already burning."

 _"Follow his lead! Go, go, go!"_ Matty ordered them, _"Mac, we have no idea how many hostiles are in that building. You have a plan to deal with that?"_ She asked me

"I'll worry about that once I shut off the gas."

 _"And how do you plan to do that?"_ She asked

"After Katrina, all gas lines in New Orleans were retrofitted with emergency shutoff valves in case of another disaster."

 _"And?"_ She asks

"I'm about to be that disaster" I said and buckled up then sped up the car and smashed into a wall of the building. Just then the men came over to me and one pulled me out of the car throwing me to the ground and pointed a gun at me

"Shoot him." One of them says and before he could gun shots went off killing him as SWAT moved in so I got up and ran into the building.

"Jack, I'm here! Hang on!" I tell him running over to the coffin

"Mac, get me out of here!" He yelled and I looked around for something to use but I saw that the fire on the coffin was getting worse. _Screw it_

"I'm coming!" I said and pulled the coffin out feeling the flames burn my hands then I shoved it off the convayer belt and it broke open then I jumped over helping Jack up then patted his arm putting out the flame, "You okay?" I asked him

"I don't know, man. I was just on fire. You tell me."

"You look good to me." I said holding my hands up then winced in pain

"Good? Let's scratch that one off the bucket list."

"What?" I asked

"Being burned alive, you know, I was I was kind of curious."

"You're insane, man." I told him

"So are you." He says and fist bumped my hand and I groaned in pain

"That was a mistake!" I yelled and fell down in pain

"Mac?"

* * *

"Well, thanks for getting me out of there, buddy. It was getting a little warm." Jack says to me as we sit in the back of the ambulance, "Easy with the tootsies there, bud." He told the paramedic, "So, what kind of gadget did you come up with to bust me out?" He asked me

"Drove that Cadillac through the building, and then I pulled you out with my bare hands."

"Sounds like I'm rubbing off on you. What, did you run out of paper clips and bubble gum or something?" He asked

"Yeah. Something like that."

"Thanks, man." He said and held up his fist and I raised my hands up at him. "Oh, yeah."

"Cute mittens, Blondie." Matty says to me walking over

"Thanks."

"You like my socks?" Jack asked her holding his foot up

"No, Jack. I was just kidding. But, seriously, you guys are lucky to be alive. Unfortunately, Duke Jacoby can't say the same thing, because he never made it out of that coffin. I just got off the phone with the CIA. Duke Jacoby is now officially KIA." She informed us

"Well, that is fantastic news. No offense." I said and looked at Jack

"No, none taken. RIP. No one's happier seeing him in the rear view mirror than me. But, uh what's gonna happen to her?" Jack asked indicating to Dixie

"Dixie Lee Jacoby will be buried here, right alongside her husband, Duke. But as far as the unidentified con woman in handcuffs over there, we're gonna put her skills to good use. I just negotiated a deal to have her charges dropped in exchange for her helping the CIA to make better cover identities. NOPD should be getting the word right about..." Matty says and we see the cop talk into his radio then uncuffed Dixie

"Matty, that is the nicest thing you've ever done for me thank you." Jack tells her

"You must have left some brain cells back in that box, Dalton. I did it for national security, not for you. Speaking of which, the very first thing I am doing when we get home is ordering a full review of your after action reports. Every last one." Matty said to him

"Yeah, well, as horrible as that sounds, it's better than being barbecued alive. I look forward to what I'm sure will be an unending ass whooping."

"They told me you guys are responsible for my release. Thank you." Dixie tells us walking over

"Thank her." Jack says to her

"Thank you. Seriously. And for what it's worth I am so sorry for everything I put you through."

"That is so sweet. You're so sweet. Apology accepted."

"Hey, Matty, I think SWAT has some more questions about the seismic shutoff valves." I told her getting up

"Yeah, all over it."

* * *

I finally got home and set my coat down then walked to my bedroom but saw a fire going outside so I walked over to the patio doors seeing Val sitting there in front of the fire pit so I walked out, "Val, everything okay?" I asked her and she looked at me

"Not really." She said and held up a teddy bear as I sat down next to her, "I found it in a box while I was packing up my grandparents house." She tells me and I grabbed it from her, "It's the teddy bear I had when the cops told my grandparents that my mom died, I snuggled that thing the whole night while I laid in bed with them, crying." She says and I held her hand, "Funny thing is..." She said and took it from me, "Murdoc sent this to me after I was born." She mentioned and I looked at her confused, "He told me that, right before he left and you got to the warehouse. He told me that he knew about me when my mom found out she was pregnant and he approached my grandparents but my grandfather told him to stay away. My grandparents told me that he was no where to be found when that happened but they lied, in order to protect me. I'm not trying to defend him or anything because I still hate his guts and want him either behind bars or six feet under but...I can't help but think, what my life would have been like if he raised me. I wouldn't be who I am now, I would be...cold, heartless, probably a killer and that scares me Mac." She said and looked at me, "I don't want to be scared, I don't want to be angry and I don't...I don't want to feel this pain anymore, this grief. I lost the two people who raised me from the day he killed my mom to the day he killed them and I..." She stopped and sighed, "It still hurts, so much, but Jack was right. I still have family, you guys, and that's why I know, that I can do this, I can go back to work and continue to stop the bad guys and hope someday that we will find Murdoc and that he get what he deserves, and right now I also need to focus on protecting Cassian, because he is the only real family I have left." She says then looked at the bear and threw it into the fire pit then I wrapped my arms around her kissing her head.

"We will find him, and I will always be by your side. No matter what." I told her and she looked at me

"I love you Mac."

"I love you too." I said and kissed her then our phones chimed and I looked at mine, "Hmm Riley says she needs us." I tell her and we stand up then leave.

* * *

After driving for a little while I got told to have Val cover her eyes and I pulled up to the address Riley sent me then got out and helped Val out walking her up to the door then opened it helping her in, "Surprise!" Everyone shouted and she opened her eyes looking around in shock.

"What.."

"I couldn't stand the thought of you selling your memories to another family who would come in and paint over them so..." Riley told her and looked at me then Val did.

"She called me, and I agreed so...I bought the house." I told her and she looked at me with shock and confusion

"Mac..."

"No. Before you start Riley is right. This is your childhood, they left it for you to grow and maybe start your own family and your own memories." I told her and wiped the tear that fell from her eye then grabbed her hand, "Val, we have been together for a year but I've loved you since I first laid eyes on you. It's hasn't been easy but we get through it day by day and I know that there is no one else I can picture my life with nor do I want to so..." I told her and knelt down then reached into my pocket as she put her hand over her mouth, "Valarie Elizabeth Clarke, will you marry me?" I asked her and she looked at everyone then me and smiled

"Yes." She says with a smile and everyone clapped then I put the ring on her finger and stood up kissing her as she wrapped her arms around my neck then the others walked over and hugged us.


	16. Chapter 16

**You can run, but you can't hide**

"Jaguar!" Jack yells

"Panther!" Bozer says

"A wolverine! And not Hugh Jackman the animal." Jack says as we sat and watched Mac mime something out while me, Matty, Riley and her mom were chuckling

"A bear! A tiger!"

"Tiger-bear."

"Man, what the hell is a tiger-bear?" Bozer asked Jack

"It's a criss-cross. Had to kill one with my bare hands once."

"What?" Bozer asked and Mac picked up a cup

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Mac, we talked about this. No props." I told him and he sighed

"I thought you said he was smart." Riley's mom says to her and I snorted then Matty imitated a buzzer

"Time's up! Girls rule. Boys don't."

"Fridge." Mac told Bozer and Jack

"What?"

"The word was refrigerator." Mac explained

"Refrigerator?" Jack asked

"Mac, in what parallel dimension do refrigerators have claws?" Bozer asks him

"You milking a cow?" Jack asked

"I was tracing the shape of the evaporator coils on the back of every refrigerator." Mac demonstrated

"Nobody knows what that is, dude. How are you a genius everywhere else and so bad at this stuff?: Jack asked him

"We discussed this, Mac. Keep it simple and nontechnical. It's charades, not How It's Made." Bozer adds and Mac sat down

"Yeah, I get lost in the details."

"Fellas, let's go now. The girls are cleaning our clocks." Jack pointed out and Mac looked at me, I winked at him and he smiled

"I think you mean cleaned, Jack. The ladies have cleaned your clocks." Riley's mom mentioned

"We're going to 20, right?" Jack asked

"17 to two, Jack." Matty tells him

"So you're saying there's a chance?"

"No. Really, I'm just embarrassed for you at this point." Matty says and I chuckled

"Embarrassed? Come on now, fellas. We're getting our second wind, right?" Jack asked Bozer and Mac

"Oh, speaking of seconds, who wants a refill?" Riley asked and stood up

"Me." Her mom says

"Me too." I told her

"Yeah, I'll help you. You got to be drunk to figure out what he's doing." Jack told her standing up, "And what's with that soap opera stopwatch? It's not regulation." Jack says to Matty

"It's an antique."

"I like it." Mac told her

"Thank you."

"Do you want to take it apart and see how it works? You're much better at that than charades." Bozer says to him

"Oh come on now Boze at least he figured out that you were trying to mime a chef." I point out and they chuckled except Bozer, "I mean come on you worked in that restaurant for how long?" I asked and he tossed his pillow at me as I laughed

"Don't go defending him now just because you two are together." Bozer tells me and I giggled then the door bell rang so Bozer got up then we followed and saw Jack pointing his gun at Fletcher then I pulled mine out as well

"On your knees. On your knees." Jack told him and he got down, "You move and I'll kill you. Shake him down, Bozer." Jack told him and Bozer patted him down

"Jack?" Riley's mom asked

"Mom, just stay behind me."

"What's going on?" She asked Riley

"We'll explain later."

"He's clean." Bozer says

"Wow. Murdoc was right. You really do live here." Fletcher said and I tightened the grip on my gun and looked at Mac who put his hand on my back, "You know, it's-it's not very secure."

"Where is Murdoc?" I asked him

"He's probably just a distraction." Jack said and looked out the window

"I know my word doesn't mean much, but I promise you, Murdoc is nowhere near us. I came alone and unarmed."

"So why are you here?" Matty asked him

"We have something very important to discuss, and trust me, you're going to want to hear what I have to say."

* * *

"Hey. All right. You know, this is all so unnecessary. I just came here to show you something." Fletcher tells us as Mac and Bozer forced him to sit down on the coffee table then me and Jack kept our guns on him

"Then show us." Matty tells him and he reached into his coat pocket then held up his phone with a video on it of Murdoc handcuffed

I chuckled then Mac looked at me, "Sorry. I just didn't realize Christmas was early this year."

"Well, Murdoc sure doesn't look happy." Bozer pointed out and Mac took the phone

 _"You'll regret this!"_

"Yeah, well, with Murdoc, looks can be deceiving." Mac says

 _"Get me out! Now!"_

"What's this about?" Mac asked him

"Revenge. Well, before Murdoc recruited me into his growing collective, I had a pretty good life hiding in plain sight."

"Murdoc outed you. Boo-hoo. You're in the wrong place for sympathy, pal." Matty says to him

"You said Murdoc recruited you to a collective. So there's more of you?" I asked Fletcher

"Yes. And each one of them has a story just like mine."

"Oh, come on. You expect us to believe there's an anti-Justice League that got tired of the exposure and just turned on him? Is that it?" Jack asked him

"Precisely. And I'm here to offer you a deal. In 12 hours, we are willing to hand Murdoc over to you," Fletcher told us and I looked at Matty, "All we ask in return is $10 million in cash and.."

"Oh, is that all?" Jack asked cutting him off

"I'm not done. The only agents allowed at the exchange are you two." He said and indicated to Mac and Jack, I looked at Mac with concern and he placed his hand on my back, "After the exchange, no one follows us. We walk away clean. I'll give you a few minutes to discuss, but the clock is ticking. As you can imagine, we have other interested parties."

"We don't need a few minutes. This is a trap, plain and simple." Jack pointed out

"It might be, but it's also the best lead that we've had on Murdoc in months. If there's even a remote chance that taking this deal leads him back to federal custody, well, then we have to take it." Matty told him

"But what about this collective? Taking this deal means helping every killer Murdoc recruited go free." Bozer mentioned

"And in exchange, we get Murdoc." Riley added

"I can't believe you guys are actually considering this. Huh? We're going to trust a former fifth-grade teacher/ professional killer? Why am I the only one feeling duped here? Val?" Jack asked and I looked at him

"You're not, Jack. But Murdoc is the big fish here." I told him

"So you're cool with this?" He asked me and I looked at Mac then him

"Yes."

"Me too." Mac said

"Well, you're making it hard to uphold that Wookiee life debt." He says, "But if you're in, yeah, I'm in. Let's do it."

"Looks like you got yourself a deal. But I promise you this, if you double-cross us, you will be the very first person I hunt down." I warned Fletcher

"Lovely. I'll be in touch with the deets. You mind?" He asked me and Jack and I lowered my gun then Mac rubbed my back and I sighed

"Get out of here." Jack told him

"See you tomorrow, gentlemen." Fletcher said and left

"Now could somebody tell me what's going on?" Riley's mom asked

"We just made a deal with the Devil to catch Satan himself. That's what's going on." Jack told her

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Think you brought enough stuff?" I asked Jack looking into the back of the vehicle

"For the doc? Hell no. This whole thing still feels hinky to me. You know, back in the day, there's a mutiny, make the guy walk the plank. I mean, why would Fletcher just hand Murdoc over to us, huh? Want me to tell you why? 'Cause he wants us dead. That's why. It's a big old bear trap."

"I know, Jack. That's why you're not the only one who came prepared." I told him and held up my device

"You brought something, too, huh?" He asked me

"Yeah."

"Please, tell me it's a death ray." He says

"No. It is a portable gas chromatograph. So it takes, um, samples from the air and it scans them for explosive particulate matter."

"So it's a bomb detector?" Jack asked me

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you say that?" He asked

"I-I thought I did."

"No, you didn't." Jack told me

* * *

 **Val POV...**

I stood in the war room pacing back and forth chewing on my thumb nail watching the screen showing us Mac and Jack.

"I'm sorry that your mom got dragged into this. How's she doing?" Matty asked Riley and I glanced at them

"On a scale from the time I got my belly button pierced to the time she got kidnapped by people who wanted me to hack the NSA? Mainly she has a lot of questions I'm not allowed to answer. But occupational hazard, right?"

"Yeah." Matty tells her

 _"Hey, Riley, what do you see at the location Fletcher gave?"_ Jack started to ask over comm but the signal broke up and we lost comms and visual

"What the hell just happened?" Matty asked Riley

"I just lost all sat feed and cell signal in the area."

"So, Mac and Jack are heading to a meeting with Murdoc, and at least one other psychopath, and we don't even have eyes on them?" I asked and my heart began to race

"Riley, I don't care what it takes, you get us eyes back on our boys." Matty told her

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

We pulled into the bridge then Jack stopped the car and we got out looking around but didn't see anyone, "I'm not seeing anybody. Your little doohickey picking anything up yet?" Jack asked me

"No, but.." I started to say and stopped Jack when I saw red dots appear on our chests, "I think they're here." I tell him and another car pulled into the bridge then Fletcher got out as well as another guy who went to the back of their car

"Morning, gents. I trust you two are alone. As you can see, I am not. But if you both behave yourselves, you get to go home with a prize." Fletcher told us and I see the other guy take Murdoc out of the back seat walking him to the front of the car

"Oh, MacGyver, how I have dreamed of our reunion. Though my dream didn't include these." Murdoc says holding up his cuffed hands

"Cash first." Fletcher told us

"Uh, how about no? You're not seeing one single dollar till we have Cuckoo-Ka-Choo in custody." Jack told him

"Well, I'm afraid that won't work. You see, I don't trust you."

"How can you not trust us? We're the good guys." Jack pointed out

"How about a show of good faith and we meet in the middle?" I asked then Fletcher nodded to the other guy and they walk Murdoc over as we walked to them and the guy pushed Murdoc to me as Jack handed the the money and I pat Murdoc down checking for weapons

"Careful, Angus. I'm quite ticklish." Murdoc says and I rolled my eyes

"Pleasure doing business with you. Oh, and, Murdoc, if turning you in didn't pay so well, I'd have killed you myself. Remember that." Fletcher told him then looked at the other guy, "Let's go." He says and they get in their car and leave

"You drive, Mac. I got him." Jack told me

* * *

"Do me a favor, Looney Tunes." Jack says to Murdoc who was in the back seat

"Anything for you, Jack."

"Ditch the creepy smile or I'll hop back there and slap it off your face." Jack told him

"I'm sensing some anger, Jack. Still mad at me for killing your friend last Christmas? Oh, how was, uh, Cage's funeral, by the way? I meant to send flowers."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but she's still alive." I told him

"Yeah, I guess you'll have to erase that notch off your belt, fruit loop." Jack added

"Really? That's surprising."

"He just told you you're not nearly as good as you think you are, and by nightfall you'll be back in a ten-by-ten, so what are you smiling about?" Jack asked him

"Just daydreaming. Do you remember when you were a kid, and you'd be playing in your backyard, and you come across a spider, and you scoop it into your hand, take it inside, and you spend hours alone in your room pulling its legs off, one by one by one, until it can't move anymore. And-and then just when this creature's reached peak terror, you'd squish it into jelly with your thumb."

"Seriously?" Jack asked me

"What? I'm the only one that did that?" Murdoc asked

"Does this disturbing trip down memory lane have a point?" I asked Murdoc

"Of course. There's always a point, MacGyver. I am smiling, Jack, because when I catch those people who handed me over to you, I'm going to play with them the same way I did my spiders."

"Let me shoot him." Jack said to me and cocked his gun

"No."

"Please? I-I know in my heart it's the right thing to do. You know, you have an inflated sense of your own importance there, Doc."

"Mother always said I was special. It's a real shame Valarie never met her..I mean she is the only grandparent that my daughter has left right?" Murdoc asked and I gripped the steering wheel a little bit

* * *

"Let's go." Jack says to Murdoc pulling him out of the car and we walk to the helicopter

"Going for a ride in a whirlybird. #Fun." Murdoc said

"Zip it." Jack told him and my device started to beep rapidly

"What is that?" Jack asked me and I looked at the helicopter

"Run. Run!" I yelled then as we ran away the helicopter blew up knocking us off our feet

* * *

"Jack. Jack. You okay?" I asked him as I crawled over to him while sound came flooding back to my ears

"I'm a little woozy, but I'm still breathing."

"I'm fine, too, over here. Thanks for asking." Murdoc says

"Shut up. Nobody cares." Jack tells him as I helped Murdoc up, "Okay, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that was not an accident."

"We got to get out of here." I point out and looked at the car seeing a large chunk of debris in the windshield

"Yeah, well, that thing's trashed. We're not going anywhere in that." Jack says

"Your insurance rates are going to absolutely skyrocket." Murdoc tells us

"I thought I told you to..." Jack started to say but gunshots went off and Jack moved Murdoc to me, "Take cover now!" He told us and we ran behind the helicopter while he laid down cover fire then joined us

"Who is this guy?" Jack asked changing his clip

"Friend of yours?" I asked Murdoc

"We both know I don't have friends."

"We got to get out of here now. Go, go, go!" Jack told us and we ran to the building behind us as Jack shot back at the unknown person. We ran into an old warehouse and I hear Murdoc laugh, "Wait. Hey, what's so funny? What are you laughing at? Huh?" Jack asked him after stopping us, "This was all part of your plan, wasn't it, crime genius, huh? Dangling yourself out there as bait to get us all blown up. Ha, ha, ha, very funny."

"Come on, Jackie boy, you know me better than that. If I was behind this, you'd both be chained to that helicopter as it burned in midair, right, huh? I don't know. Face-to-face, screaming in absolute terror as you plummet to a beautiful, fiery death."

"What is the matter with you?" Jack asked him

"I'm just spitballing here, but you get the point. Come on. If this was a double-cross, the worst one in the history of double-crosses."

"Yeah. Yeah. Fletcher took our money and he circled back to kill this toolbox himself. And that's a win-win right there." Jack pointed out

"Wait, look, there's another possibility here. Fletcher. He said that there were other interested parties who wanted Murdoc, so maybe he went to someone else before he came to us." I mentioned

"Yeah, and then that certain someone tracked Fletcher to kill Murdoc himself. It's a whole lot cheaper that way." Jack says

"So the real question is, Murdoc, who wants you dead?" I asked him

"Pull up a chair, boys, this could take a while. "

"We ain't pulling up no chair. We're going to figure this out on the plane on the way back to the Phoenix. Come on." Jack said to him and grabbed Murdoc then we ran again and I pulled out my phone.

"Cell phone towers are still down." I point out

"Oh, great, so we're on our own with Murdoc and his soon-to-be-dead, unidentified friend." Jack says

"Again, not my friend."

"Well, whoever he is, he can't be far behind. We need to figure out who we're dealing with here, Mac. Pronto." Jack told me

"If we can take a picture of him and somehow get it to Phoenix, then they can run facial recognition."

"How the hell we supposed to do that? We can't get close enough to the Terminator without being terminated." Jack says and Murdoc coughed, "What?" Jack asked him

"Set a trap. Come on, nature photographers use lures to take photos of dangerous animals. This is no different. Draw the man out. Set your camera to record and auto send and then when cell towers are working again, voila , the video will wing its way across the country to dear Matilda. Sound about right, Angus?"

"Actually, that's exactly what I had in mind." I said

"Great minds, MacGyver. Great minds."

"Jack, I need your phone." I told him

"No way, man. Smash your own damn cell phone. Mine got toasted when the helicopter went snap-crackle-pop."

"Fellas, whatever we're planning on doing, You may want to hurry things along." Murdoc told us and I saw the man walk along the outside of the building.

"Hey, this way." I said and pulled Murdoc away

"Who is this guy?" Jack asked

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"People, I've got operatives in the field that I can't see or talk to. Where are we on restoring my comms and sat feed?" Matty asked the techs walking into the room

"Um, the cell company just got two of their towers working again." Jill tells her and Riley's computer chimed

"Whoa, whoa, hang on. Mac's phone just synced a large video file to the cloud." She tells us and brought the video up

 _"Okay. Not sure if you guys are gonna get this before we're dead, but we still have Murdoc. Someone's trying to kill us. And if this works, you're about to get a real good look at him."_ Mac says over video

 _"We need to go right now, buddy. Let's go."_ Jack told him coming into frame with Murdoc and I tensed while twirling my engagement ring

 _"Okay, got it."_

"Fast-forward." Matty says to Riley, "Okay, stop. Take a screen grab and run that through facial rec. We've got a new player in the game, and I want to know exactly who he is."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Okay, looks like cell phone service is back up. We need to let the Phoenix know we're still alive." Jack pointed out as we walked through a library

"Why don't you just kill that nice woman and steal her cell phone?" Murdoc asked

"No." Jack told him

"Fine. I don't know how you two get anything accomplished."

"We're in a public library. We don't need a phone." I said to them and brought up the video chat to the war room, "Hey, guys."

 _"Mac, Jack. It's a big relief to see you. I'm sending you new exfil coordinates. A team should be there in four hours."_ Matty tells us

"Okay, good. We'll lay low." Jack says and Murdoc moved in

"Valarie. Hi! I just want to say how nice it is seeing you again." He tells her and I saw her shift

 _"Shut it, Pennywise. The adults are talking."_ Val said and I gave small smile

"Did you guys get my video?" I asked them

"We did. But we didn't get any hits on facial rec. Maybe Murdoc knows him." Matty replied

"Send us the photo." I said and it popped up on the screen then Murdoc looked at it and laughed

"Oh! This is gonna be fun."

"Matty, I think we're in business. Our psycho recognizes your psycho." Jack says to her

"Okay, who is this guy? Why does he want you dead?" I asked Murdoc

"This is Nicholas Helman."

"Is that name supposed to mean something?" Jack asked

"Mm-hmm. Means you might as well start digging three graves because that's the man who trained me. He taught me everything I know. You think I'm bad? Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet."

* * *

"Okay, so, what's the deal with this guy hunting you? There's got to be a good reason - he wants you dead so bad." Jack says to Murdoc as I drove the stolen van

"It's quite sad, actually."

"Is it?" Jack asked

"Helman and I were on a job together, taking out a senator's kids with a car bomb. Standard stuff, really. Helman was under the car securing the device, when the children came out early. Now, this was a high-paying gig. I didn't want to blow the paycheck, so I blew the explosives." Murdoc tells us and laughed, "Helman was horrifically burned over 75% of his body. It's a miracle he survived. I mean, if you saw him, you'd admit the guy has got a face for telethons."

"You know, we'd have better luck stopping him if you told us the truth." I told him

"The truth is irrelevant, MacGyver. Helman wants us dead, we're dead. But I can't say no to that face, Angus. So here it is, the big truth. Fresh out of high school after my beloved daughter was born, I wanted nothing more than to join the United States Army. They wouldn't have me."

"Oh, imagine that." Jack says

"Something about spectacularly failing a psych exam."

"Oh, I'm shocked." Jack told him

"Right? So, hopped the first flight out of the good old U.S. of A. Joined the first army that would have me."

"You joined a foreign military? I'm pretty sure that's treason." I point out

"See, I had a burgeoning interest in shooting people. My new friends were willing to indulge me. See, what the U.S. saw as a problem, my new friends saw as a gift. So they sent me to train with Helman."

"Why don't you fast-forward to the part where he wants to put your dumb ass in the ground." Jack said to him

"I can think of two possible reasons. One: I stiffed the guy on a bill at a diner in Lisbon. Still owe him $13.57. Or two: I, uh, murdered his wife right in front of him. Probably the second one, huh?"

"Safe bet." I said

"Mm-hmm."

"So what happened?" Jack asked him

"Well, after Helman had trained me and the country we'd sworn allegiance to ceased to exist, so we went to work for some very, very bad people. Until one day, Helman met this woman and he fell in love and decided he wanted to quit the biz. See, this isn't exactly the kind of job you just turn in your two weeks' notice."

"So they sent you in to kill him." Jack said to him

"Sure enough. Remember when I said Helman was better than me?"

"Let me guess you tried to kill him, missed, killed her instead, and he's been chasing you ever since." I point out

"Ten points for Gryffindor, Angus! Whoo-hoo! Yeah, see, that's why I've never stayed in the same place for long I always figured Helman would catch up and make good on his promise to end me."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Hey, guys, I got an incoming switchboard patch from a caller who claims to be Nicholas Helman." Riley told us

"Put it on speaker." Matty says to her

"Okay."

"This is Director Matilda Webber. To whom am I speaking?" Matty asked

 _"By now, I think you know exactly to whom you're speaking. You're in charge?"_ Helman asked her

"That's right."

 _"Oh, good. I have an offer. Your two agents have no idea what they're stepping into the middle of. So here's my proposal: you give me Dennis, and I'll let them live."_ Helman said and I looked at the others confused

"Dennis?" I asked

 _"Well, you might know him as Murdoc. But it doesn't matter what is on his tombstone, because there will be a tombstone real soon. The only question is, will there be three?"_

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Ooh. I spy with my little eye something red." Murdoc says as we continue to drive, "No takers? Hmm. Ooh, how about 20 questions? Ooh, the alphabet game. Daddies, are we there yet?"

"Shut up." Jack told him

"I suppose a pee-pee break's out of the question."

"Shut up!" Jack warned

"Hey. Just ignore him. You were saying?" I asked Jack

About what?"

"Diane." I told him

"What about her?"

"You never finished." I said

"Oh. Yeah, well I-I don't know, dude, that was, like, a hundred miles ago, you know?"

"Well, just talk about something. Act like he's not there." I say

"Okay. To be honest, I do think about her and what could've been, but to be really honest, I think about, what if we tried again and I screwed it up? I always screw it up."

"You're talking about Riley?" I asked him

"Yes. And I finally have Riley back in my life again I don't want to lose her."

"Home Home on the range Where the deer..." Murdoc started to sing from the back

"Can I shoot him?" Jack asked me

"No."

"I-I know I don't have that many bullets left, but I guarantee he'll stop singing before I use 'em all." Jack mentioned

"He's trying to get a rise out of you."

"I could pistol-whip him, huh? How about a pistol-whip, huh? A discourage...how about a good pistol-whip?! Shut up!" Jack yells at him and Murdoc stopped, "See? That's better. See? Everything's gonna be fine." Jack says and I saw a road sign up ahead

"Actually, things just got a whole lot worse."

"What?" Jack asked me and I pointed to it

"AMBER Alert. That's us. Helman must've called it in."

"Ooh-hoo, the old man's still got it." Murdoc says

"We're not gonna make it to exfil. We need some help." I said and turned the van around

* * *

"Get out." Jack tells Murdoc as I walked over to a pay phone and held up the cut wire, "What now? You want me to catch a pigeon?"

"Actually, I can fix this." I said and went back to the van taking out the speaker in the door

"I actually tried raising pigeons once." I heard Murdoc say

"Shut up." Jack tells him

"What? It was when I was a boy."

"If you want to talk just to hear yourself speak, Twisted Sister, go right ahead Doesn't mean I have to listen." Jack said

"Columba livia domestica. Hey, did you know that the domestic pigeon, unlike our dear darling Jack Dalton, is actually considered a highly intelligent creature? That's absolutely true. No, no, no, I-I trained them to fly up to great altitudes, and then they'd swoop down into their cages. And once they mastered that, I started tying these little M-80 firecrackers to their legs and..." Murdoc said and imitated exploding noises

"What's the matter with you?" Jack asked him

"You like things that go boom. I thought you'd like that story."

"Hey, Mac." Jack says to me as I worked

"Almost."

"No, no, no, man, forget the phone. Let me just kill him right here. I'll make it quick." He tells me

"Oh, I'm done." I said and dialed the phone

"Whoo! Never gets old, watching you, Angus. It's so damned impressive. No wonder my daughter fell for you." Murdoc tells me and I tried very hard to ignore him

 _"Mac, please tell me this is you."_ Matty says answering the phone

"Hey, Matty. We are on Route 65, mile 13, and we hit a bit of a snag. Helman just called in an AMBER Alert on our vehicle. We're gonna try and find another one, but we're in the middle of nowhere can exfil come to us?" I asked her

"Yeah. Sit tight. I'll have a chopper there in..."

"Guys, I got a cop car on satellite coming in hot. Based on his roof markings, this cop's way out of his jurisdiction." Riley tells us cutting her off

"Of course he is. The driver's the opposite of law enforcement, my dear Riley. Helman has a penchant for stealing emergency vehicles." Murdoc informed us

"This just keeps getting worse and worse. Let me tell you something: we ain't outrunning no cop car in that pregnant roller skate." Jack says and I hear a train whistle then looked at one off in the distance

"Maybe we don't have to. Come on." I tell them and we ran for it

* * *

"You know, I love watching you work, MacGyver, but this is completely unnecessary." Murdoc tells me as I tied his cuffs to a pole in the train, "I mean, you two are protecting me, supposedly. It'd make no sense for me to run away."

"Well, even if it did, now you can't."

"Do we even know where this tin can is going?" Jack asked me

"According to the manifest on those crates there, you're bound for the Port of Los Angeles. So without getting into a literal junior high math problem, about 18 hours."

"Yeah, as long as Helman doesn't factor into the equation. Hey." He says to Murdoc, "Don't be stupid.

"Oh, I think you've got that part covered, Jack." Murdoc tells him and Jack walked over to the train door with me following but Murdoc stopped me

"Oh, Angus, how goes the search for dear old Daddy? Making any headway?" He asked me and I sighed then walked back over

"Actually, yeah. Yeah. I found him living off the grid in the Montana backwoods. It's not easy, since we barely know each other anymore, - but we're making an effort to patch things up."

"Mm-hmm, yeah, well, I see what you're doing there I like it."

"What?" I asked him

"No, no, no, no, I'm making up a story, then you're making up a story, oh! Didn't work for you either, pal. I see right through you. Come on, MacGyver. For once, can we please just take the truth for a little walkie-walk?"

"Okay, you first. Why did you agree to kill your former mentor? Oh, wait. Is it possible that I'm not the only one with daddy issues?" I asked

"Touche. I have an abundance of daddy issues. They're just a different flavor from yours, MacGyver. See, my father never abandoned me. He stayed. And well, I'll spare you all the gory details. So it's probably a good thing our dear Valarie never met him."

"What, like you care?" I asked him and he chuckled

"Oh Angus you should know better by now. Trust me when I say sometimes it's better to be abandoned. For everyone."

"But not in the case of Helman. Am I right? You took it personally when he ditched you." I told him

"I suppose when Helman retired, I did take it a bit personally. MacGyver, the man was an artist of death, someone that I greatly admired, and then he goes and he throws it all away for love? Like...something I never could understand not even with Valarie's mother even though I did try." He tells me and I couldn't help but be a little shocked, "What do you think, MacGyver, do you know why your dad left?"

"I used to think I did. I told him I blamed him for my mom's death right before he left. But you know what? I was a kid, I was hurting. He had grown so distant after she'd passed, I just I guess I wanted to see if I could get a reaction out of him." I told him

"You ever consider murdering him? I don't want to get all Freudian on you, but there is absolutely nothing as cathartic as killing your own father. Trust me, and I'm sure my darling daughter feels the same way about me. Considering I took away the 3 people that raised her from the moment of birth." He says and I turned away and sighed. Val did want him dead, but she knows that it's not the way to do things, that's what separates her from Murdoc, and that's on of the things I love about her.

* * *

"The only thing I couldn't make was a spoon," I told Jack walking over to him with the can of beans, "So you want to...you want to drink some beans?" I asked him

"That's disgusting. No, I'm-I'm all beaned out."

"Oh, if he doesn't want the beans, can I have them, MacGyver?" Murdoc asked me and we looked at him, "What? They look like delicious beans." He says and I tossed him an unopened can

"Knock yourself out."

"You realize you just gave him a weapon, don't you?" Jack asked me

"What's he gonna do with a can of beans?" I asked him and we looked back at Murdoc, "Just keep an eye on him. I let him get in my head earlier."

"Yeah, well, that's what that fool does. That's why you just got to ignore him, like I do." Jack says

"Yeah, I know. But it did get me thinking. What if my dad doesn't really want to be found?"

"Come on, man. If that was the case, he wouldn't be breaking into your house, leaving you cryptic messages." Jack pointed out

"I don't know, but add that to the growing list of things that I don't know about my dad. Including his connection to Matty."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm still a little foggy on that one." Jack said

"Point is, I don't know why I'm wasting so much time and energy on someone who didn't care enough to stick around in the first place."

"Right, right. You know, I-I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but that's the way family works sometimes, man. It can take a man years to realize he's made a mistake." Jack tells me and I looked at him

"Is this about you now?"

"Well, I thought you were done. It's Diane. She's-she's skipping around in my head a little bit." He told me

"Hey, maybe that's a good thing. You two looked like you were having fun at the party. Well, you know, before the assassin/schoolteacher showed up, I mean."

"Yeah, that's partially why I left her the first time. As much as I try to keep business out of personal, sooner or later that job comes a-knocking. And I hate to break it to you, pal, but guys in our line of work, we don't get the fairy tale ending." He says and I glanced at Murdoc

"Doesn't mean you can't try. I mean look at me and Val."

"Yeah." He says and the train suddenly jerked

"Do you mind?" Murdoc asked and I looked at him, "The beans." He says and I see the can by my feet

"Wait a second. We're 30 miles from the next stop. Why are we slowing down?" I asked

"Because he found us, that's why." Jack told me and we see a cop car sitting by the tracks

"Well, we can't stay here." I point out and walked over to Murdoc undoing the tie on his cuffs

"Let's go." Jack says

"Can I have my can of beans?" Murdoc asked as I walked him over

"Your b.." Jack started to say and picked them up

"Thank you."

"Fetch." Jack told him throwing them out of the train car then pushed Murdoc out and we followed then we ran to an old factory but I saw a chain on the door

"Well, so much for getting off that train before he spotted us." Jack said

"More good news we can't get in."

"Well, I can shoot it off there, but I think I better save some ammo for the Terminator." Jack mentioned

"No-no-no, I-I can get through this. It's low-grade steel. I just need a piece of, uh, heavy-duty, high-carbon steel.." I tell him and looked down at Murdoc cuffs, _Crap_

"All yours, MacGyver."

"Don't do this." Jack told me and I reached into my pocket pulling out the key handing it to Jack

"Get 'em off him."

"If there was a contest for all-time worst ideas, this wins the blue ribbon." Jack tells me

"We don't have a choice."

"Ditch that creepy smile." Jack tells him as I grabbed a metal spike then Murdoc handed me the cuffs and I used them and the spike to break the chain

"Got it!" I told them and just as I opened the door gunshots went off and I ducked behind a trash container then I see Murdoc run off, "Murdoc!"

"Go!" Jack told me and I ran after him but I couldn't find him

"Where is he?" Jack asked me

"I-I don't know."

"You don't know? There's not one, but two psychopathic killers on the loose. I got about six bullets left. You just had to let him go." Jack says

"Yeah, you were right."

"About what?" Jack asked

"All-time worst idea ever."

"Thank you."

* * *

"What's the plan there, home-slice?" Jack asked me as we ran into a different part of the factory

"I'm working on it."

"Yeah, well, kick the neurons into hyper-drive, will you? I got about six bullets left." He told me

"I heard you the first time."

"Yeah, the only reason I'm telling you is so you don't blame me when I can't save your skinny ass." He says

"Well, if you can't save me, it's 'cause I'm dead, so there'll be no blaming, I can assure you."

"Well, you're right. That's a good point. Yeah, that makes me feel a whole lot better." He said sarcastically

"Not me."

"Oh, come on. You know I'm not gonna let anything..you know, just forget it." Jack tells me

"Yeah, forget it. That's a good idea."

"You just had to let him go." He pointed out

"Stop. I'm trying to focus."

"Had to let him go." He repeated

* * *

"I-I can work with this." I told Jack walking over to some tarp

"Yeah? Wh-What's the plan?"

"Oh, yeah. Uh, I'm gonna make a drop net trap. It's the same one that's used on wild animals, but, uh, we're gonna lure Helman underneath it." I explained

"With what?"

"With live bait." I told him

"Nice." He says and looked at me, "Ladies and gentlemen, the role of "live bait" will be played by your very own Jack Dalton. Am I right?"

"Just long enough for me to incapacitate him." I tell him

"Yeah, okay, fine. Hey, you want to hear something funny? Of all the reasons I want to live through this, you know the one thing that keeps popping in my little nugget?"

"The Cowboys win the Super Bowl?" I asked him as I worked

"You'd think so, right? Yeah, b-but no. It's Diane. I'm kind of ready to see where that might go, you know what I mean?"

"That's romantic. But maybe we should, uh, worry about surviving the two world's deadliest killers first, huh? All right, look. I got this locked down. I'm gonna set the trap. You go find Helman and bring him this way." I told him

"Yeah, okay. Good luck." He says holding up his fist

"Save it for later."

"Right." He says and left then I heard foot steps walking behind me and I turned around seeing Murdoc standing there pointing a gun at me then he shot me in the shoulder and I fell down then heard more shots go off and I saw Helman fall down dead

"Well, well, well, MacGyver." Murdoc said still pointing the gun at me as he walked over, "It would be...such a pleasure to kill you right now but then again, what would that do to our dear Valarie?"

"Hey! Drop it! I said drop it!" Jack yelled at him and Murdoc raised his hands and dropped the gun then got down on his knees, "Don't you move." He tells him picking up the shot gun Helman had and aimed it at Murdoc

"I just saved MacGyver's life, Jack. You really think I want to take it now?"

"You don't expect me to believe that, do you?" Jack asked him

"No, Jack, he-he's telling the truth. He's the only reason I'm alive."

"What do you want? Huh? We both know you don't have a heart. Even if you did, you wouldn't do anything out of the goodness of it." Jack mentioned

"Well, now that you mention it. There is something that I would like in exchange for my bravery and heroism. Something only you can give me."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Are you out of your mind? No!" I told Matty as we stood in the war room

"Val..."

"You want to put the psychopath in the same room as my brother? No. No way, I won't allow it." I said cutting her off

"It's out of my hands Val. Oversight already okay'd it." She tells me and I sighed putting my hands on my face then looked at her.

"One condition: I'm there too. That is the only way I will let him near Cassian." I tell her and she hesitated then nodded.

* * *

"Oh my dear Valarie. How are we this fine day?" Murdoc asked me as I stood there with my arms crossed while an agent escorted him to the door that had my brother on the other side

"Shut it. The only reason I'm allowing this is so that you can't try anything while I'm here." I told him and he smirked then I saw him glance at my hand

"Well I guess congratulations are in order. I was always wanted another son." Murdoc tells me and I clenched my jaw then looked at the agent and nodded my head then he opened the door and Murdoc walked into the room and I watched from the window outside.

"Dad!" Cassian yells and ran over to him and they hugged making my skin crawl

"I've been looking everywhere for you, buddy."

"Want to see what I drew?" Cassian asked him

"Only more than anything." Murdoc told him and they walked over to the table, "Oh, wow, that's wonderful."

"It's you, me and Val together at the park." Cassian told him and they both looked at me, I gave Cassian a small smile and I saw Murdoc smirk at me, "I have more." Cassian said

"Maybe you can show 'em to me later."

"Are we going home?" Cassian asked and my phone rang, I saw it was Mac so I answered it still looking in the window.

"Hey, I really can't talk right now."

 _"I know. I just wanted to see how it was going."_ He says and I sighed then turned around a walked away but still stayed close.

"I can't believe Oversight agreed to this I just...I don't trust it. I have a bad feeling."

 _"It'll be ok Val. With all those agents plus you there nothing will happen."_

"I hope you're right beca..." I started to say but I felt something get pressed into my back

 _"Val? Everything ok?"_ Mac asked me

"Hang up." Murdoc whispered and I closed my eyes

 _"Val? Say something."_

"Albatross" I whispered then hung up.

"Thank you." Murdoc said and I whipped my elbow back hitting him in the face and he stumbled back. I went to draw my gun but he kicked it out of my hand then smacked me across the face and I fell into the wall then he grabbed my hair, "You're not being a good girl." He said and I stepped on his foot then turned around and went to punch him but he blocked my arm and hit me in the gut. I bent over then he hit me again and I looked at him.

"If you think I'm gonna let you walk out of here with him..."

"Oh you won't have a choice." Murdoc told me and raised the gun then shot me in the lower gut. I gasped in pain then slowly fell to the ground and looked at him, "Don't worry, it won't kill you. Just slow you down so you can't stop me. Don't worry though, I won't hurt him." He told me and I tried to move, "Oh and tell my future son-in-law, better luck next time." He says and walked away

"No.." I groaned but I couldn't move then everything went black.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Jack can you please go faster?" I asked him and he sped up

"It's gonna be okay man."

"She said Albatross, that can only mean something is wrong." I told him and looked out the window. _If I loose her I swear..._ I thought to myself and we pulled up to the Federal building and I saw an ambulance there with cops and a coroner. I didn't wait for Jack to stop before I opened the door and ran over to the gurney that the paramedics were wheeling out, "Val!" I yelled and reached them seeing her laying there with her eyes closed.

"Sir we have to bring her to the hospital she's losing blood." The paramedic told me

"I'm coming with." I said looking back at Jack who nodded getting back into his car as I got in the ambulance and grabbed Val's hand, "Come on Val. Stay with me." I said to her and just looked at her.

* * *

After a long wait with everyone in the waiting room the doctor came out and told us she was stable and I could see her. I walked into the room and held her hand as I sat down then kissed it trying to hold back tears.

Hours went by when suddenly I felt her hand move and I looked at her as she opened her eyes, "Hey" I said to her and she looked at me.

"Where am I?"

"The hospital, you were shot..." I started to tell her then she looked around and tried to get up.

"Cassian!" She said panicking but I put my hand on her shoulder stopping her, "Mac?"

"I'm so sorry Val. He...Murdoc took him." I told her and she put her hand over her mouth closing her eyes and cried as I pulled her to me, "I'm so sorry." I tell her as she cried and it broke my heart. The woman I love is laying here after almost dying to protect her brother and now...now Murdoc took the only family she had left.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

I laid there looking up at the ceiling of my hospital room, I finally convinced Mac to go home and change. I was lost in thought when I heard a knock on the door and I looked to see Matty standing there, "How are you feeling?" She asked and I scoffed

"How am I feeling? Well, I got into a fight with Murdoc then he shot me and I almost died which allowed him to walk out of that building with my baby brother, so I guess you could say I'm not doing to good." I told her and she walked over

"Val, I am so sor.."

"Matty," I said cutting her off, "With all due respect, I don't want to hear it, okay? I told you this was a mistake and yet it still happened."

"I know."

"You know? Did you get shot trying to protect someone you love?" I asked her and she shook her head, "Well I did and guess what. I feel like a failure now because I couldn't save Cassian from our father. So let me make one thing perfectly clear Matty, if anything, and I mean anything happens to Cassian, I quit."


	17. Chapter 17

**You can run, but you can't hide**

"Look I know you're tired of hearing this but it's been 2 weeks, how are you doing?" Mac asked me as I walked out of his bathroom after getting ready.

"I don't know to be honest. On the one hand I wish I could have stopped him then maybe Cassian would still be safe but on the other hand, all I can do now is try and find him in hopes that I can bring him home." I told him walking around the bedroom gathering up my things then I turned and looked at Mac who stood at his dresser with no shirt on, "For the love of god will you put a shirt on?" I asked him and he looked at me

"Why? Is it distracting you?"

"Very much." I smirked and he walked over to me and put his hands on my hips then kissed me softly, "Mmm keep it up and we'll be late." I told him and he scooped me up causing me to squeal as he brought me over to the bed and laid me down.

"Let's be late then."

* * *

"How's your shoulder?" Matty asked Mac as we walked into the war room and I sit on the arm of the chair next to Mac putting my feet on the cushion

"A little better every day. I'd still love to thank the guy responsible."

"Any news on Murdoc?" I asked her

"No, not since Henry Fletcher's body was found, but our techs are still working the crime scene for leads."

"Knowing Murdoc, you won't find any." Bozer pointed out and Jack walked in wearing a sling

"Are you experiencing sympathy pains?" Matty asked him

"I'll have you know I dislocated my shoulder practicing kenjutsu. Honing my skills, trying to keep this little team of knuckleheads safe."

"So, you hurt yourself playing with swords, and we're supposed to feel safe?" Matty asked

"Oh, I wasn't playing with 'em."

"You know what? I'm sorry I asked. Now let's move on to why you're all here." Matty says and brought up an image on the screen, "Meet Boris Mitrovic. He's Serbian war criminal and Interpol's Most Wanted since 1999. For nearly two decades, they've been trying to get near this guy and have failed. Then, two months ago, they caught a break, and they almost caught him, but the raid went sideways. Marko Mitrovic Boris' right-hand man and oldest son was killed, but, unfortunately, Boris escaped, and has since fallen off the face of this earth. He could be anywhere. But since he's responsible for hundreds of deaths, he is definitely someone that we would like to have a word with. Which brings me to Boris' other son, Omar." She informed us and brought another image up

"Kid looks pretty slick. You sure he's from that family of Quasimodos?" Jack asked

"Omar is the baby of the Mitrovic family, and the apple of his daddy's eye."

"So if anyone knows where Boris is, it's him." I point out

"How do we get close to Omar?" Mac asked

"So here's the interesting part. Omar is not like his father or his brother. He rejected the family business, choosing instead to spend his nights and his daddy's dough throwing lavish parties at the family's ultra-secure compound. Other agencies have gotten agents in, but the ones that have gotten in They never made it out."

"So you're sending us in next?" Bozer asked her

"Well, fortunately for us, I don't need to do that. So, two months ago, Omar started dating social media maven Mia McQueen. Wildly popular, she's got something like 4.2 million followers on social media and a clear aversion to wearing clothes. Last week, the couple tied the knot in an impromptu wedding at the family compound.

"Because what girl doesn't want to get married in a bikini while drunk?" I asked sarcastically and I hear Mac chuckle behind me

"Well, let's not judge, because their rash decision just became our big break. Mia is making Omar leave the compound to take her on a honeymoon. The newly minted Mr. and Mrs. Mitrovic just booked ten days At Chateau Elan: an exclusive, off-the-grid resort in French wine country. This gives you ten days to go undercover as guests, become Omar's best friend, and get him to spill the beans on his daddy's location."

"You know, it's too bad I'm out of commission on this one. You know, partying with the rich and semi-famous that's a Jack Dalton specialty." Jack says and I rolled my eyes

"You were never going, Dalton, okay? This is a hot spot for hip, young couples, not senior citizens." Matty told him and I snorted

"That's not very nice. Don't laugh at that." He told Bozer

"Bozer, Riley, congratulations. You two just got hitched." Matty told then and I looked over at them Mac, you will be fake-married to an agent on loan from the CIA." Matty said and I looked back at him, "Val I would have you two do it but I need you to go undercover as a bartender at the resort that way you can keep an eye on all the guests plus Omar in case things go south." Matty told me and I nodded

"Does this agent have a name?" Mac asked her

"She does. Meet Leanna Martin. Bozer, you might recognize her from spy school."

"Uh yeah, - I kind of think I remember her." He says and I looked at him confused

"Great. Then you can introduce her to Mac, because she'll be here any minute."

"Can't wait to meet the new Mrs. MacGyver." Mac said and put the paper clip down.

* * *

"Now gaze lovingly into each other's eyes." Jill says to Mac and Leanna as they posed for their fake wedding photos, I couldn't help but sit there and watch kind of trying not to laugh, "More lovingly. Even more. Come on, guys, think soul mates." She says and they kissed which did kind of bother me a little, "Um, Eskimo kisses. Do Eskimo kisses. Yes. Okay, where's my other happy couple? Get ready, lovebirds. You're up. You're gonna have to work pretty hard to out-cute these two." Jill said and I saw Mac walk over to Bozer

"Hey, I know this seems weird." Leanna tells me and I chuckled

"It's ok, it's for the job. Just don't get any ideas." I told her with a smile and she laughed

"When are you two gonna tie the knot?" Riley asked me and I looked over at Mac talking to Bozer then back at her

"I um...told him I wanted wait until we found Murdoc." I said and she nodded then put her hand on my shoulder

"Bozer? Get your butt in gear." Riley told him and I giggled

"Uh, coming, honey!" He says and walked over to her as Mac walked over to me

"You okay?" He asked me and I sighed

"You mean am I okay with my fiance fake marrying another girl? Yes Mac I'm fine with it, but um..." I said and looked at everyone then him, "Maybe keep the suit for later?" I asked him and he raised his brow at me.

"Really? Like what you see?"

"I sure do. My man looks hot in a suit." I tell him and he kissed me then we saw Leanna walk by Bozer as he stood up with Riley I saw him look at her and I looked at Mac

"Oh boy."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Hey, would you guys mind checking in?" I asked the Leanna as we walked into the resort '

"Yeah."

"I kind of want to talk to him. Thanks." I tell her then her and Riley headed over to the receptionists desk and I looked at Bozer turning off my comm and he did the same, "So when were you gonna tell me?" I asked him

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Your spy school girlfriend. I'm sorry I didn't make the connection before." I told him

"She's incredible, right?"

"Without risking you or Val punching me in the face, she's more than incredible." I said

"It's cool. You know, I can handle my best friend spending time with my incredibly hot girlfriend."

"All right, now you're making it weird." I tell him

"Nah, man. I'm good, okay? This is just an assignment. It'll be over soon."

"Good. Stay focused, because I think the assignment just arrived." I informed him and we put our comms back in turning them on, "Hey, guys, time to meet the happy couple." I said to Riley and Leanna then they walked over

"Uh-oh." Leanna says

"It's been so long..."

"Looks like the happy couple's not so happy." She pointed out

"Uh, Boze, call my phone, would you?" I asked him and nodded to Leanna for her to walk with me then my phone rang. I pretended to answer it and dropped it into a fake tree.

"Please, don't make a scene. I'll make it up to you, baby, I swear." Omar tells her

"Are they arguing about what I think they're arguing about?" Leanna asked as we walked around around the corner

 _"Yeah, afraid so. Omar just cut their trip short. Looks like our ten-day window just shrank to two."_ Riley informed us

 _"Two days to get lover boy to give up the location of his terrorist father? Is that even possible?"_ Bozer asked

"With ten days, it was a long shot. With 48 hours? I don't know." I mentioned

* * *

"That's a big glass of wine. She's pissed." Leanna pointed out and I glanced over at them

"Yeah. Not exactly a good time to make an introduction. Riley, any chance we could do something digital?" I asked her

 _"Not gonna happen. Can't get onto either of their phones. Omar's digital security is stronger than the four thugs he brought with him. If we want him to talk about Dad, we're just gonna have get him to tell us himself."_

"Well, back to making a conversation with him, then." I point out as we walked away from the bar and they walked over to it

 _"Or we can bring the party boy to us."_ Bozer pointed out, _"Hey. This Chardonnay's great and all, but y'all got anything stronger?"_

 _"Oui, monsieur. We also make our own champagne, cognac and single malt whiskey."_ I hear Val tell him and I smiled. Her french accent was perfect and hot

 _"Perfect. Two shots of whiskey."_ Bozer told her, _"Back in my club days, this was my move. Get the party started and let the ladies come to me."_

"There were club days? You had moves?" Leanna asked him

"Bozer thought he had moves. They never worked." I point out

 _"That's only because I was dead broke. Now we got Matty money. Keep 'em coming. You know what? Just leave the bottle. Yeah, just give me that. Thank you."_

"Are we sure that drinking on the job is a good idea?" Leanna asked as we walked over to them

"Absolutely not. That's why I bought this." I point out pulling out a dropper, "Hey, how you doing?" I asked Riley and Bozer

"Oh, eye drops. Nice." Riley says

"Actually, alcohol dehydrogenase."

"And for those who had a public school education?" Leanna asked

"Alcohol dehydrogenase is the, uh, enzyme that breaks down the booze in your bloodstream." I explained as I grabbed a shot putting the drops in then handed it to Leanna then did the same for the other, "But with a few household items, and an hour that I spent in the lab, I was able to make enough to make sure that none of us actually get drunk. All right. Cheers?" I asked and they all raised their glasses

"Cheers."

"By the way, the hangover's gonna make you wish you were dead." I tell them and took the shot

"Here. Can you play this for me?" Riley asked Val handing her phone to her, "Thank you."

"What's that?" I asked Riley

"You'll see." She says and party music played then we all started to dance as everyone else joined in and I looked at Val who shook her head trying not to laugh then Omar and Mia walked over to us and I handed them shots.

* * *

Me, Leanna, Bozer, Riley, Omar and Mia stood in giant barrels smashing grapes with our feet to make wine then we all laughed and started to throw them at each other.

I looked over at Riley as her and Leanna took pictures with Mia then she walked back over to Omar, "Honey, you ready?" Mia asked him and they walked away

"Let's go party, people!"

"I'm on Mia's phone." Riley says as me and Leanna walked away

* * *

"We didn't get to do any of this at our wedding, 'cause we got married in a pool. So let's agree every time someone clinks a glass, everyone needs to kiss, okay?" Mia asked and I choked a little on my drink as I saw Val glance at us after bringing us another bottle

"Okay." I said and they kissed, "Us?" I asked with a smile

"Uh, yeah, I guess us." Leanna says and we clinked our glasses then kissed, I better start thinking of ways to make this up to Val.

"Our turn?" Bozer asked and then he did the same thing with Riley

"Why not? Clink again. Why not? Why not? Let's keep clinking, huh? Clink it up." Mia tells us and I looked at Bozer

* * *

"So, let me get this straight. You cut your honeymoon down from ten days to two?" I asked Omar

"Yeah."

"Wow. She must've been pissed." I tell him

"She was. Believe me. You know, I want to make her happy. But I need to keep my father happy, too. You know?"

"Oh, yeah, but come on, what's he gonna do all the way back home in Serbia?" I asked

"Oh, he could do a lot, even from there. But he is not back home in Serbia."

"Oh, he's not?" I ask

"Oh, no. You wouldn't believe where he is. He.." Omar started to say but then the girls walked over

"Did you miss us?" Mia asked him sitting on his lap and I looked at Leanna

"Perfect timing." I tell her

"Guys, we are going to go back to our room. There is a movie we need to watch. And we're doing all of this all over again tomorrow." Omar says to us

"Yes we are." I told him

"Sounds good?"

"Good night, guys." Riley said and Omar gets up and they walk away

"Seriously? We got to do this again?" Bozer asked

* * *

I groaned as I woke up on the couch the next morning hearing my phone ring, "Yeah, hello?"

 _"Where are you guys?"_ Matty asked me

"Asleep, like every normal person at 6:00 in the morning."

"Well, your targets aren't normal. They're already up, dressed, and on their way to go work out." She tells me

"We just went to sleep, like, two hours ago. What are these people made of?" Leanna asked from the bed

"I don't care what they're made of. I care what's inside Omar's head. You've got 24 hours left to get his father's location. So go make it happen." Matty tells us and I hung up the phone

"I thought your miracle drops were supposed to keep us from getting drunk." Leanna said to me

"Well, they did. They converted the alcohol into the chemical that causes hangovers. Like I said, you skip the drunk and go right to the hangover."

"I think I want a divorce." She says and I chuckled

* * *

"I feel my brain bouncing in my head with every step." I tell Leanna as we jogged

"Morning!" Omar called to us catching up and I felt a throbbing pain in my head

"Hey." I tell him

"Glad I caught you guys. You guys up for some oysters and vodka later? They're Mia's favorites."

"Ha! What a coincidence. It's our favorite, too. We had a raw bar at our wedding." I said to him

"Ah."

"So, is today really your last day?" Leanna asked him

"Yeah. But trust me, the six of us are gonna make the most of it."

"You can't stay longer? Just call up your dad. Convince him to let you stick around." I said to him and I looked at his face

"Everything okay?" Leanna asked him

"Yeah. I'll catch you guys later, okay?" He asked and I see him and his guards continue to jog as we stopped and he whispered something to them

"Hey, guys, I think Omar just made us." I tell them

 _"Hey, Mia, you all right?"_ I heard Bozer ask

 _"Definitely just got made. Omar just texted Mia "Stay away from our new friends. I don't trust them."_ Riley told us

 _"So now we've got less than 24 hours and Omar's not even talking to us."_ Bozer says

"Yeah, that about sums it up."

"We need a new plan, fast." I point out

* * *

 _"All right, honeymooners, I want to hear your plan for getting back into Omar's good graces and getting his father's location, and I want to hear it now."_ Matty tells us

"Hate to say it, Matty, but I don't think we're gonna be able to make nice in under 24 hours." Bozer told her

"Maybe we don't have to. Maybe we can find a way to interrogate Omar right here, right now." I point out

"We just need a window of time where Omar's completely alone." Leanna adds

"Let me check their schedules." Riley says and looked at her laptop, "All right, looks like Omar's got a 90-minute in-room massage in 40 minutes."

"Couples massage or solo?" Leanna asked her

"Solo. Mia signed up for Pilates."

"Nice. Looks like we found our window." I said

"With Omar's goons posted up outside his suite?" Bozer asked

"Exactly: outside his suite. Leaving me and Omar all alone inside." Leanna answered

"You? Who says you're going?" Bozer asked her

"Omar booked a female masseuse. And both Riley and Val have to be our eyes. Plus, I was number one for interrogation in our class."

"Yeah I remember. Okay, but we still got two problems: one, what's to stop Omar from yelling for his guards once you start asking questions? And two, how you gonna get that kind of sensitive intel out of him in just 90 minutes?" Bozer asks

"Actually, I think I just solved both. I just need some stuff from housekeeping." I tell them.

* * *

"Am I gonna interrogate Omar or clean his room?" Leanna asked me as I mixed everything together

"Technically, with this chloroform, you could do both."

"Chloroform? Won't that just knock him out?" She asked

"Not if you're careful. Before sodium pentothal was invented, chloroform was actually used as a truth serum. It's all about the dose. Too much, and you'll knock him out. Too little, Omar'll realize what you're doing, and his guards will come crash the party."

"Okay, my Mia impression worked. Concierge believed I was her and let me cancel Omar's in-room massage. Leanna's clear to swap in as a masseuse." Riley informed us

"All right.

* * *

 _"Bonjour. I'm here to give Mr. Mitrovic his massage."_ We hear Leanna say over the comm, _"Merci."_ She says and there was a long pause, _"Just a little, uh, aromatherapy to start. This is a very special blend of the oils. Just breathe deep and relax."_

 _"Whoa. That's strong."_ Omar told her

"Okay, guys, Mia's in the gym. That's 90 minutes on the clock" Riley told us, "Val you got eyes on her?" Riley asked her

 _"Sure do."_

"How are you feeling?" Leanna asked Omar

 _"So relaxed. What's in that stuff?"_

 _"Never mind that. Uh we are, uh, going to try a relaxation technique. Just listen to my voice. Let the words wash over you as you sink deeper and deeper. Tell me about your wife."_ She tells him

 _"Mia? I love her so much. She's the most important person in the world to me."_

 _"Is Mia the only family member you're close with? What about your father?"_ She asked him

 _"Whoa. Why are you asking about..."_

 _"Omar, you can trust me. I just want to know where your father is. Just tell me, and this will all be over. I know you hate being locked away in that compound. Wouldn't life just be better if he were out of hiding and you were finally free?"_ Leanna asked

 _"I'm more like him than you think."_

 _"But your father's a ruthless war criminal. A murderer."_ Leanna pointed out

 _"Like father, like son. How do you think I became second in command? The police didn't kill my brother."_

 _"Then who killed him?"_ Leanna asked

 _"I did."_ Omar said and we all looked at each other shocked

 _"Okay, this is no longer an interrogation. This is now an extraction. We have Boris's right hand. We're bringing him in."_ Matty tells us

 _"How am I supposed to extract Omar with four armed guards outside the door?"_ Leanna asked

"All right, Leanna, knock him out, then meet us at the balcony, all right?" I told her

 _"But it's a balcony."_

"Yeah, but just go with it." Bozer tells her

"Val keep an eye on Mia." I said

 _"Got it."_

* * *

"Hey, Leanna, look down." Bozer told her as we wheeled a laundry cart out then I grabbed a hammock

"Omar's out cold. What now?"

"Tie one of these ends to your railing." I say to her and handed one end up then she dropped the other half down

 _"Guys, I lost visual on Mia."_ Val tells us

 _"How?"_ Riley asked her

 _"A couple stopped me to ask a question."_ She says and I climbed up the hammock then pulled it over

"What the hell is going on? Omar?" I heard Mia ask then I looked at her as Leanna put the cloth with Chloroform over her mouth knocking her out

"Good work."

"Do you think the guards heard?" She asked then we hear the guards shouting outside and rattle on the door

"Yeah, I think they heard. Val we need back up." I told her

 _"On my way."_ She says as we placed Omar in the hammock and lowered her down and I hear fighting outside, _"AHH!"_ I heard her yell into my comm

"Val?"

 _"I'm okay."_ She says as we get Omar down to Bozer

"Meet up with Riley we're coming to you." I tell her and we wheel Omar through the lower level room and out into the hall, "Riley, meet us in the parking lot with a set of wheels. We're coming in hot."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Well, that didn't go as planned." Riley tells the others as we see them wheel a cart out

"It never does. Matty's working on exfil now. We'll question Omar on the plane and try to get his daddy's location before he has a chance to run away." Mac says

"Speaking of running, how's our French country-style wine truck gonna outrun Omar's goons in those?" Bozer pointed out and Leanna climbed into the passenger while I helped Bozer put Omar in the back

"Uh Oh, I know." Mac said and ran over to a chain fence then back over to the trucks then ran over to our truck jumping in the back with me, "Go, go, go! Let's go, go, go!"

* * *

"You okay?" Mac asked me and I looked at him

"Yeah I'm fine. One of the guards hit me in the gunshot wound." I told him and he reached over to check but I stopped him, "Mac, I'm okay." I said and he picked up my hand and kissed it then looked at Omar.

"Omar's still out cold. We got exfil coordinates yet?" Mac asked the others

"There's a airstrip 15 miles north. Matty's got a plane en route." Bozer said

"Well, once we're airborne, Leanna can continue her interrogation." I mention then suddenly the back of the truck opened and we see Omar fall out

"Ah Come on. Guys, stop the car." Mac said and the truck stopped then we got out running after him, "Everyone split up and box him in." Mac tells us and grabbed my hand as we ran with Riley.

* * *

 _"No sign of Omar. Do you guys see him?"_ Leanna asked us

"Yeah, we can't see anything. Matty, a little help?" Mac asked her

 _"Okay, thermal images up. Bozer, Leanna, Omar's on your ten and about a hundred meters away."_

 _"There!"_ I hear Bozer say

"On our way." I tell him and we ran to them

"Guys, you've got company dead ahead. I don't know who they are, but there are a lot of them. You've got to grab Omar before he gets to them." Matty informed us

* * *

"At least he hasn't found their comms. Matty, are you getting this?" Mac asked her as we approached the cabin

 _"Every word, Mac."_

 _"Okay, speech recognition confirms that's the voice of Boris Mitrovic."_ I hear Jill say

"So, Omar was using his honeymoon as a cover-up for a face-to-face with his father." I point out

"We can't just stand out here..." Riley started to say

 _"Mac, Val, Riley, you need to stand down. You're outnumbered and outgunned. I have a tac team in the area. They're en route and 30 minutes away."_ Matty said cutting her off

"Matty, we don't have 30 minutes." Mac told her

 _"You guys charge in there, I can lose five agents."_

"And if we don't, then you lose two. Riley, Val stay here on comms so the Phoenix tac team can actually find us. And whatever you do, don't go near that cabin." Mac says to us and squeezed my hand then walked away

"Did he just do that thing where he runs off without sharing his plan?" Riley asked me

"Yep. Never gets less annoying."

* * *

"Morning." Mac says to Bozer and Leanna as we walked over to them holding hands while they laid on their gurneys, "I was beginning to think I had overdone it with the chloroform."

"So you just knocked everybody out?" Bozer asked him as they stood up

"For eight hours. You two were holding hands when we found you. Paramedics tried pulling you apart, but Bozer's fingers wouldn't budge." Riley says

"Wait, did the paramedics tell Matty about my fingers?" Bozer asked

"I don't think so. But she did get Leanna a car. Straight to the airport, then right back to the CIA. Sorry. Matty's orders." I said to them

"Oh, Matty also said to call her ASAP." Riley tells Bozer

"Leanna, it was a pleasure meeting you. Bozer, good luck with that phone call." Mac said and we walked away, "So." He says and stopped me, "That vineyard would be a great spot for a honeymoon." He tells me and I looked at him confused, "I know you wanna wait and I respect that. Just spitballing."

"Hmm," I said and wrapped my arms around his neck as he put his hands on my hips, "Well I was thinking about that actually and I was thinking maybe we can pick a date. We don't know if we will ever find Murdoc and life is to short to put things on hold." I told him and he smiled then kissed me.

"I think that's a perfect idea, soon-to-be Mrs. Macgyver."

"Sure you don't mean her?" I asked him indicating to Leanna

"You think you're funny?"

"I am funny." I tell him and he kissed me

"Mmhmm"

"I am." I said and kissed him again

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Oh. How was your little couples retreat there, lover?" Jack asked me walking onto the deck and I looked at him

"Exhausting." I tell him and leaned against the railing

"Yeah. Yeah, well, that's marriage for you. You'll find out soon."

"It wasn't real." I tell him

"I know that. How could it be, with you stomping all over Bozer's game like that? That's not cool."

"You know about him and Leanna?" I asked him

"I do now." He said and I scoffed, "Oh, come on, man. He's been drooling all over the place ever since she got here. I just did the math."

"How's your arm?" I asked him

"Hurts, but it was worth it. Hey, I want you to check something out."

"Oh, yeah?" I asked and he handed me his phone with a photo on it, "What's this?"

"It's a photo of a document I found. And just so you know, the original is back in Matty's safe, at her house." He told me and I looked at the photo

"This is Matty's un-redacted personnel file."

"Yep. And check out what she was doing back in January of 2000." He tells me and I zoomed in then stood up after I read it

"This means.."

"Oh, I think you know what it means, bro." Jack said

"Matty lied to me. She did know my father."


	18. Chapter 18

**You can run, but you can't hide**

"This isn't my fault." Jack says as we chase after our target through the woods

"I never said it was." Mac told him

"You didn't have to say it out loud. I can tell by the look on both your faces." Jack mentioned and sneezed again then me and Mac look at him, "See? There it is again that look. You do blame me."

"For what? Sneezing at the exact moment we were gonna grab Sergei, turning what should have been an easy extraction into whatever-whatever this is?" Mac asked him

"If I'm sneezing, it's 'cause you made me wear this stupid camouflage suit. You know I'm allergic to oak."

"Which is why I didn't use oak in the suit." Mac pointed out

"Well, then, it's got to be something else, then, I'm a..." Jack started to say but sneezed again

"At this point, you should just take it off." I told him

"Riley. Where are you at? He's getting away. Where are you?" Jack asked her

"On your six, Jack. I'm trying to get this guy before he goes off the road." She says and drove past us on a bike but then stopped as the guy went into a bunch of trees and we went after him then Mac started to climb a fence

"Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Get down." Jack says stopping him, "Get down from there. Don't climb that."

"What?"

"Look around you. Okay, I don't speak Ukrainian, but this sign, in any language, is bad news. Where are we right now?" Jack asked and I looked at the sign

"Chernobyl." I told him

"Chernobyl? Nobody told me we were going to Chernobyl."

"I guess it would make sense." Mac pointed out

"It's been 30 years, right? That's long enough. Right? We're all good?" Jack asked him

"By now, most of the strontium-90's probably all good, but plutonium's half-life, depending on the isotope, is anywhere between 80 and 24,000 years."

"So that little brain vomit just told me this whole place is still leaking radiation?" Jack asked

"Yeah. We don't have a choice." Mac tells him and I take off my cover and threw it over the barbed wire part of the fence

"Nobody told me we were coming here." Jack says again

"I know, but we don't have a choice." Mac said and we started to climb up

* * *

 **24 hours earlier...**

"Okay. 15 minutes of silence makes it official." Bozer says as we sit there and look at Mac look at the computer screen in the kitchen, "Jack. You broke Mac." He told Jack and I snorted

"How is this my fault? You're the one that asked him what he was gonna do with the information when he found it."

"True, but you're the one who gave him the new info. It was you that broke into Matty's house and found her unredacted file, so, technically, this is your fault." I point out

"No. Technically, this is Matty's fault. She's the one that lied to him, not me."

Bozer scoffed then stood up walking over to Mac, "Hey, Mac. How you doing, man?" He asked then me and Jack followed him

"Hey, listen, man. I know there's got to be a million thoughts swirling around in that brain of yours. And I can't say I blame you, but we called this little family meeting here to discuss what's in the file, not stare at you while you thought about it." Jack added

"I just...I don't know what to say. Matty didn't just lie about knowing my father, turns out, January 2000, she was investigating him for the CIA."

"Yeah, that's a lot to process, Mac, but that's why we're here, to help you figure out what to do next." I tell him and rubbed his back

"That's right."

"What is the next step? Confront her about it?" Mac asked

"Yeah. I-In my experience, the word confront and Matty, in the same sentence, doesn't really equal a good time. I can tell you that much." Jack told him

"I can't just ignore this. She already lied to me once."

"But she can't deny this, Mac. I mean, Jack found actual proof she was investigating your dad." I said to him

"No. We found proof that Matty was compiling a dossier. We have no idea what was in the actual report."

"Well, hopefully, Riley not being here means our little keyboard commando found something, so we just sit tight, all right? Chill out." Jack says and the front door opened and Riley walked in

"What, you guys started without me?"

"Yeah, the meeting was at 10:00 a.m. Big Ben. You know how I feel about punctuality." Jack told her

"Well, sorry, Jack. Next time you ask me to hack every U.S. intelligence agency without setting off all the alarms, I'll be sure to do it by the completely arbitrary time you picked."

"Okay, that'd be great, thanks." He says

"Any luck on the report?" Mac asked her

"No. I swept through every government server, and I found nothing. Either that report on your dad is so top secret, no one has access to it, or it simply doesn't exist anymore."

"It doesn't make any sense. My dad was an inventor, he was a scientist. Wh-Why was Matty investigating him? More importantly, why did she lie to me about it?" Mac asked

"Okay, I hate to be the one to say it, but after Thornton, someone has to. Can we even still trust Matty?" Bozer asked

"I-I've known Matty longer than anybody else here, and it's no secret that our relationship is-is less than perfect. But it doesn't change the fact that I do trust her. I-I really do. Always have. Did she lie to you?" Jack asked Mac, "Yeah. Yeah. But my guess is she probably has a pretty good reason for it. Think about it."

"Yeah, I mean, is-isn't it possible she may have lied to protect you? Like my grandparents did with me?" I asked Mac and he grabbed my hand then sighed

"I guess. But protect me from what?"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, Matty probably thinks she's doing what's best." Bozer pointed out

"I got to talk to her right now." Mac says and stood up then Jack's phone chimed

"Oh. Now may be turning into later. Yeah, boss lady just put up the Bat-Signal. You're gonna have to cool your jets for now, dude. Me, you, Val and Riley are wheels up in 30. She's going to brief us in flight." Jack says and we walked to the door

"What about me?" Bozer asked

"Hmm? Well, you'll report to Matty at the Phoenix." Jack told him

"Wait, so I'm supposed to, what, act normal around Matty after this?"

"Yeah, that's right." Jack says

"Yeah, till we get back. I want to talk to her myself." Mac added

"Which means you're gonna have to pretend like none of this ever happened." Riley tells him

"Yeah, we're counting on you, Boze." I said

"Guys, Matty just told me she knew all about my secret spy-school girlfriend before even Riley did. That woman is a human lie detector. One look into my baby browns and she'll know. What am I supposed to do?" Bozer asked

"Try not to look her in the eye." Mac tells him and we walk out after Jack and Riley

* * *

 _"Guys meet Dmitry Pavlovich, head of the Ukrainian mob."_ Matty tells us as we sat on the plane.

"I've heard of him. Since 2004, the U.S. has suspected Dmitry of supplementing his income by allowing international terrorist groups to move weapons and contraband through his trade routes." I point out

"So, someone's been lying to us for years, and we finally found proof?" Mac asked and I sensed the hidden meaning in his words

 _"Exactly. The U.S. has never been able to directly link Dmitry to these terrorist groups until a month ago, when the CIA flipped someone inside of Dmitry's organization This mystery of evolution, Sergei, the lackey that worked for Dmitry and the mob. Plans were arranged for Sergei to meet with a CIA handler to turn over all the necessary info to dismantle Dmitry's entire organization."_

"But then the word got out, and Dmitry green-lit Sergei Am I right?" Jack asked her

 _"Yeah, and the moment the Ukrainian mob started hunting Sergei, he fell off the grid, refusing any further contact with the CIA."_

"So you're sending us in to find him." I brought up

 _"Actually, we already did. Phoenix intercepted messages between Sergei and a forger, who agreed to make him fake travel documents. We have the time and location of the meeting."_

"So, this is a simple extraction? Done and done." Jack says

 _"There's nothing simple about this, Jack, or the CIA would have handled it themselves. The Ukrainian mob is very invested in hunting Sergei, and he knows it. He's gonna be extremely skittish."_

"Right, so don't spook him. Got it." Jack said

* * *

"You spooked him. You spooked him!" Mac yells as we run after Sergei and Jack sneezes then we chased after him over the fence into Chernobyl

"Man, I got two arms, two legs, and no horn growing out of the center of my forehead. I'd like to keep it that way." Jack says as we run

"Relax. We're on the edge of the exclusion zone. Way far away from the reactor. The radiation's not that bad out here." Mac told him

"Which is exactly why I don't want to go any further. Stop. Hang on a second." Jack says and we stopped running, "Now, being attacked by irradiated mutants that you've pissed off is not on my to-do list, sorry."

"There's no such thing as irradiated mutants. Most people who get exposed to too much radiation, they just lose all their hair and die." I point out

"Well, that doesn't make me feel any better." Jack said and we hear a man scream so me and him draw our guns, "What the hell is that?"

"Come on." Mac told us and we started to run again then came up on a bear trap seeing a bloody boot, "Ooh. That's not good." Mac says

"Mac, why would a radioactive bear trap snag Sergei?" Jack asked

"I don't know." Mac said and we hear a vehicle drive away in the distance, "But whatever pulled him out of it is taking him deeper into the exclusion zone."

"You mean deeper into the zone oozing with radiation." Jack points out

"Same one."

* * *

 _"You lost Sergei in Chernobyl? How do you lose someone in Chernobyl? It's deserted. You guys are basically the only ones around for miles."_ Matty says as we come up on a road

"Yeah, well, tell that to the people who just caught Sergei in a bear trap and then dragged him into a car." Mac tells her

 _"So, who took him, and where is he now?"_

 _"Yeah, I mean, who uses bear traps? Is that a Ukrainian mob thing?"_ Bozer asked

"No, I just think there are bears in these woods." I point out

"Yeah, mutant bears. Some six-eyed freak is probably making a mid-afternoon snack of Sergei's face right now, just.." Jack says then made monstrous eating noises and I rolled my eyes

"I don't think it was six-eyed freaks, Jack, just like I don't think it was the mob, Bozer. They didn't know where Sergei was, and even if they did, why would they take him deeper into the exclusion zone? It just doesn't make any sense." Mac pointed out

 _"So, if it's not the mob, then who has him?"_ Bozer asked

"Well, that is the million-dollar question now, isn't it, Bozer?" I asked him

"Hey, Riley?" Jack asked her as she approached us with the bike

"Yeah."

"Anything o-o-on tracking Sergei's phone?" He asked

"Sorry, Jack. Been a little busy pushing around this piece of crap after it ran out of gas."

"Yeah, why didn't you get rid of this thing?" I asked her

"Well, I don't know. I thought we might need it. Figured Mac could mix dirt with rainwater or something and make gas."

"Well, dirt and water make mud, sweetie, not gas." Jack tells her

"All right. Sergei's phone is either off or broken. Tracking's not gonna happen."

"Which means our only lead are these tire tracks." Mac pointed out

"You mean the ones that head to nuclear meltdown headquarters?" Jack asked him

"Yeah."

"Yeah. Matty, where does this road lead exactly?" Jack asked

 _"It looks like that dirt road leads to an abandoned town up ahead."_

"Maybe that's where Sergei was taken." Riley says and Mac took the bike and tipped it over

"Yeah, maybe. How far into the exclusion zone is this town exactly?" Jack asks

 _"A few miles. Oh, and before you start complaining, Dalton, let me remind you: the sooner you get Sergei, the sooner you get out of there. So, if I were you, I'd start walking."_

"Yeah, yeah, kind of figured that. So how much radiation we talking about here, man? I mean, is it the good kind where you get superpowers? Or the bad kind where you're super dead?" Jack asked Mac

"Yeah, well, there is no good kind. But we are ten away miles away from the site of the nuclear meltdown, so levels of the bad kind should be safe. But just to put your little mind at ease, I have whipped up something that will help us monitor these levels of radiation, and it is my Geiger counter." Mac explained

"Your MacGeiger counter. That's a little conceited of you."

"Jack.." Riley says to him

"Well, that's what he said. That's what he called it."

"Radiation sickness I can deal with..." Riley continued

"He's getting big-headed."

"Your puns I cannot. Okay?" She asked him

"Okay." Jack said and Mac's device started clicking

"Nice."

"Is it supposed to already be clicking like that?" Jack asked him

"Yeah. It's what it's supposed to do Pick up levels of radiation. Right now it's just low background levels." Mac says and pointed it at Jack who looked at him concerned

"Seriously?" Jack asked and Mac looked at him

"I'm just kidding." Mac told him and laughed, "I mean, it's picking up levels, but they're just low. Trust me, when it gets bad, you'll know."

"It's very reassuring."

* * *

"Ooh, all this radiation we're probably gonna develop a superpower or something, right? Huh? I mean, I've always considered myself a cross between Captain America and Superman, like America Man. No, no. No. Super Cap. That's-that's actually better." Jack says as we walked down the road then me and Riley laughed

"I was wondering how far we'd get before he started this." Riley said

"Mac, uh, you'll develop telekinesis. You're practically Professor X as it is." Jack told him and I smirked at Mac, "And Riley invisibility."

"Okay. Because?" She asked him

"Because it fits your personality, I don't know. It's not an exact science. Val would get super strength." Jack says

"Really? Super strength?" I asked him and he nodded his head, "Okay, I can live with that." I said and Mac chuckled then I lightly punched his arm

"It's not science at all. Radiation doesn't give you powers. It kills you." Mac pointed out

"You-you can't prove a double negative." Jack told him

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I can prove this one, but the math would bore you after three seconds, though."

"Look, look, I'm just trying to find any upside to being stuck in this radioactive wasteland. Like, for example, you being here means you can't storm into Matty's office all hot and bothered and confront her." Jack mentioned

"You don't think he should talk to Matty? I mean, don't-don't you think he deserve answers?" I asked him

"Sure he does. But this isn't a situation you can go into all half-cocked. Look, I know you like to make up stuff on the fly, and that may be fine when it comes to bombs and terrorists, but this is Matty the Hun we're talking about here. You can't improvise your way through this one. You're gonna need a plan."

"You know things are bad when Jack Dalton's the voice of reason." Riley says

"Yeah. That maybe...that's my superpower."

"Look, I appreciate the concern, but it's kind of hard to plan when I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that Matty was investigating my father. I used to think he was just some eccentric scientist who chickened out after my mom died, and then bailed on me. But now? Now I don't even know who my father is. Why was the CIA investigating him in the first place? Did he get caught up with the wrong people? And if he did, is that the reason that he left?" Mac asked and I put my hand on his arm as we came up to the town

"Whoa." Jack exclaimed then sneezed making us jump

"Geez." Riley says

"Sorry."

"All the stuff you've come up against in your career, and you can't beat mutant pollen?" I asked him

"Hey, hey, I-I bet there's 30 years of worth of pollen in this town."

"Tire tracks end where the asphalt begins. Guess we can say good-bye to that trail we were following." Riley pointed out

"Oh, come on, you guys, do you really think he's in this town?" Jack asked

"I don't think anybody's in this town. Most towns around Chernobyl were abandoned after the reactor exploded." Mac said

"Why is my Spidey-sense telling me we're being watched right now?" Jack asks holding up his gun

"Well, maybe your real superpower is paranoia." Riley tells him

"Yeah. It's all fun and games till the CHUDs come out."

"CHUDs?" She asked him

"Yeah, yeah, it's a classic film, Riley. Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers."

"Hold on." Mac said and we stopped, "I hate to admit it, but I think Jack's right."

"See? He's seen the film."

"Not the CHUDs. Look." Mac tells us and pointed to a building where we see a camera

"What is a camera that was built in the last five years doing in a town that was supposed to be abandoned for 30 years?" I asked

"Technologically advanced mutants. Hope they like lead." Jack said and we walked to the building and he kicked the door in then I follow with my gun raised. We hear music and see a bunch of teenagers inside so I lowered my gun, "Okay, I'll bite. What the hell is going on in here?" He asked

"I think these are stalkers. Kids who sneak into Chernobyl and use it as their personal playground. They film their stunts and post the videos online." Riley explained

"Millennial's are so weird." Jack says and I looked at him

"Val and I are millennial's." Mac tells him

"Yeah, that-that proves my point." Jack says and Riley asked them all something in Ukranian

"Depends who is asking." The one kid told her

"The dude with the gun. That's who, sport." Jack said

"And we are not here to make trouble. Just trying to find a friend. We think he came through here." Mac added

"I might be able to help. For the right price." The kid said and indicated to Jack's ring then Jack held it up and laughed as Mac cleared his throat

"Seriously? Beowulf? B-Beowulf's sacred."

"Wait, you named your wolf ring Beowulf?" I asked him

"Mm-hmm."

"You ever even read Beowulf?" Riley asked

"No, no, no, you don't have to read Beowulf to know it's a super cool name, Riley."

"You got that from a dude selling jewelry out of a back of a pickup in Panama." Mac pointed out to him

"So?"

"So we'll find you another one." Mac says

"We're not gonna find another Beowulf. There's no more Beowulf, dude."

"It's our only lead. Cough it up." Mac told him and Jack took the ring of then threw it to the kid

"Tell me about your friend."

"Yeah. Well, he got caught in a bear trap a few miles back, and then was taken by car through this town." Mac says to him and the kid kept quiet

"Hey. Better start talking, you little rug rat, or I'm taking Beowulf back." Jack warned him walking over and the kid stood up

"Your friend is probably dead. And if he is not, he soon will be."

"Who took him?" I asked the kid

"Potvori."

"Who?" Jack asked

"That's Ukrainian for monsters." Riley said

"Monsters? Like, like, mutant monsters? 'Cause that would really settle a-an argument we've been having." Jack mentioned

"I'm sure it's just a nickname. What can you tell us about these monsters?" Mac asked the kid

"Our friend Vasily got caught by Potvori last month."

"A-And where is this Vasily now?" Jack asked

"We found him staggering in the road, beaten covered in blood. We asked him what happened. Wouldn't say much. But that day he walked out of Chernobyl, he never came back."

"And where was Vasily when he ran into these monsters?" Riley asked

"Their base."

"The monsters have a base?" Jack asked quietly

"I am the one who dared him to sneak in there. It's my fault he almost died."

"Is there any chance you could tell us how to find the base?" I asked the kid who looked at Jack's leather cuff. Jack chuckled as he took it off and handed it to the kid

* * *

"Jack, give me your wolf ring. Jack, give me your leather cuff. I don't know why it always has to be my personal stuff." Jack pointed out as we quickly made our way through the building

"Are you saying anything important up there?" Mac asked him

"I'm just saying, you gave that child of the radioactive corn my favorite stuff, man."

"Maybe the real question you should be asking is: why do you like to wear things teenagers find cool?" Riley asked

"I don't wear it for their approval, Riley, thank you." Jack said and we hear people shouting in the distance then ducked behind a wall seeing men in hazmat suits walking around and someone driving a forklift with some barrels in them, "Well, this looks unfriendly."

"Well, looks like we found the monsters. Who the hell are they, and what are they doing out here?" I asked

"No clue. Check it out." Mac said and a car pulled up then the trunk opened, "Good news is: Sergei's still alive."

"Yeah, and the bad news is: we have to get through the Soylent Green people eaters to get to him." Jack added

"Really? That's the movie reference you use?" I asked him

"What?" He asked and I shook my head

* * *

 _"Guys, I've been through every report on Chernobyl filed by the Five Eyes and the CIA. There should be absolutely no activity in that section of the exclusion zone."_ Matty told us

"Yeah, well, your secret reports are wrong, Matty." Mac says to her, "Cause we're looking at a lot of serious activity here."

"Hey, look. We snuck into Chernobyl undetected, maybe they did, too. Question is: what the hell are they doing out here?" Riley asked

"Well, judging from their radioactive suits, can't be good." Jack says

 _"Agreed. And I will make some calls. I will put these people on everyone's radar, but let me be clear. Our objective remains the same: to get Sergei."_

"Okay, Matty, but we're still gonna need help getting in the building and circumventing the radioactive rager going on by the front door right now." Jack said

"Yeah, every door and window that I can see from here is either inaccessible or guarded. Riley, can you pull up a sat image of the building?" Mac asked her

"Yeah." She tells him and pulled out her laptop

"This place is huge. There's got to be another way in."

 _"How about I just save you four some time and show you the way in? Riley, incoming."_ Matty told her and I looked at the screen, _"After your little run-in with the stalkers, - I had our tech scrub through All their online videos. We found the one Vasily recorded when he snuck into that warehouse."_ Matty said and we see Vasily climb up the building and jump over to the other roof on the video

"Oh, great. So we're gonna Kris Kringle our way in the place now? You know, I've seen this movie, guys. Doesn't end well." Jack said and we continued to watch until Vasily's camera turned seeing a guy walk down the stairs and covered up the video

"Oh. Always fun seeing a familiar face." Matty pointed out and we looked at the guy again

"You know this guy, Matty?" I asked her

 _"Unfortunately. When I was at the CIA I worked up a dossier on this guy. Name is Virgil Kahn. He's wanted in half a dozen countries for everything from smuggling to murder."_

"So what's a guy with a resume like that doing all the way out here?" Riley asked

"More importantly, Sergei's leg wound looked pretty serious, so if we want to extract him while he's still alive, we should get on the move." Mac pointed out

"Yeah, let's go." Jack says

* * *

"If we can reach those telephone wires, we can use them to get to the roof." Mac said as we got to the side of the building

"If? If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, every day would be Christmas. Step aside. Been a while since I've parkour-ed, but I think I can still remember some of the moves." Jack told him and I shook my head and looked at Riley

"All right, if he's gonna start doing stuff like that, you might want to start mixing up some Bengay right now, Mac." I told him

"Bengay?" Jack asked

"Hey, no need for parkour. We're gonna go ice climbing instead." Mac says and made his way over to the fence

"Don't you need ice to do that?" Jack asked and Mac shh'd him then came back over after cutting some things off the fence then grabbed some metal spikes, "Sorry, I I-I really don't see what this has to do with ice climbing.

"It's not. It's not ice climbing. But it's the same principle."

"How?" I asked him

"The mortar in between the bricks is old and brittle. So, the wall is actually climbable if you have the right tools."

"Oh. So it's rock climbing." Jack pointed out and Mac looked at him standing up, "Sorry." He said and Mac walked over to the wall then stuck his foot that had the metal ice shoe on it into the wall then used the other spikes to climb up then got onto the roof.

"Cool." I said looking up at him as he thew a cable down to us and Jack grabbed it

"Hey, just, for the record, I could've parkour-ed this easy."

"Oh, yeah. I-I know. Let's go." Riley told him and we climbed up

* * *

We make our way down the steps inside and get to a door but stopped when we heard voices on the other side of it. Just then I hear Jack inhale sharply and I see him get ready to sneeze but Mac quickly pinched his nose

"Ow." Jack said then Mac took his hand away, "Oh, thanks, pal."

"God, you have the worst timing, Jack." I told him

"No, second worst." Jack says and Mac's phone vibrated

"What does he want?" Jack asked

"Yeah, Boze, we are kind of in the middle of a very dangerous place right now." Mac told him and paused then ushered Jack over to listen, "Well, just relax."

"Come on, Bozer. Quit being such a baby. You got to believe in yourself now, man. You-you solved my break-in. Right? So maybe Matty just really believes in your detective skills." Jack added and I looked through the window of the door, "Quit being such a baby."

"Look like I said, try and figure it out..." Mac started to tell him but I saw people coming towards the door

"Mac, Mac, Mac, Mac."

"Uh, keep calm. Don't crack." Mac said and hung up then we saw the people walk by

"Okay. We're clear." I tell them

"Yeah, so, we're in agreement. How are we gonna find this guy?" Jack asked

"I think it's gonna have to be a room-by-room search, unfortunately." Mac tells him

"No, man, that's gonna take forever."

"Then we better get started." Riley says and opened the door, I followed her as Mac and Jack followed me

"Yeah."

We continued walking through the building then came up on the main area of it seeing the people walking around and barrels everywhere, "Well, this is a big, steamy pile of no bueno." Jack pointed out

"Guys, I may be way off base here, but, um shouldn't a bunch of radioactive waste be stored in an officially sanctioned nuclear disposal site?" Riley asked and Jack sneezed but it was stifled and we looked at him

"I'm sorry. Sorry." He says as Mac moved him back and we followed

"Unfortunately, I just realized what these guys are doing. Kahn and his men are stealing radioactive waste, smuggling it outside of the exclusion zone, probably for sale on the black market." Mac pointed out

"Dirty bombs, right?" I asked him

"Yeah. Rig just one of those barrels with enough explosive, and the resulting kaboom could render a major city unlivable, 10,000 years."

"That's probably why they grabbed Sergei. If I'm a nuclear pirate looking to sell dirty bomb parts to terrorists and some yahoo stumbles upon my operation I'd grease him as well." Jack added

"Which means he's probably already dead." Mac says

"Ah, Sergei's phone just turned back on." Riley told us and there was a chime, "And someone sent Sergei a text. Dmitry accepts your terms. Cash for the rat. One hour."

"If there's a silver lining to all this confusion, at least we know our boy Sergei's still alive and kicking, right?" Jack asked

"Well, for the next 60 minutes, yeah."

"Okay, so we have one hour to find Sergei, get him away from a group of international criminals selling radioactive waste before the Ukrainian mob shows up to kill him." I brought up

"Pretty much, yeah." Mac says

"Awesome."

* * *

 _"All right, people, we are T-minus 47 minutes and counting until the Ukrainians come to collect Sergei, which means our goal remains simple: get Sergei first."_ Matty tells us

"Yeah, we're fully aware of that, Matty, but this place is gigantic. It's like trying to find him in a Walmart Supercenter." Jack told her as we ducked behind another wall

"And, in case anyone forgot, finding Sergei is only half the problem. What are we gonna do about Kahn's radioactive waste?" Mac asked

 _"I have a tac team en route to get Kahn and his men. They're two hours out."_

"No, no, no. Matty, the trucks will be loaded and gone by then. If we let any of this stuff drive out that door, next time we see it is gonna be when a dirty bomb explodes in a major city." Mac said and we moved to duck behind a large shipping crate

 _"I understand that, Mac, but your orders are to get Sergei."_

"Well, then my orders are wrong." Mac tells her

"Mac." I said

 _"Do we have a problem, MacGyver?"_

"No, we do not, but we will if we let any of that waste drive out this building. Look, Matty, I'm asking you to trust me and I'm telling you we can both get Sergei and stop those barrels from being shipped out." Mac tells her as we move along to another wall

 _"Okay, Mac. What's your plan?"_

"Pretty simple. I go disable the trucks. You guys grab Sergei, and we get the hell out of here." Mac tells us

"Sounds good to me." Jack said

"Um..I think I'll go with you," I told Mac and he looked at me, "I'm not let gonna let you sneak around with armed men everywhere and not have back up." I said and he nodded then we ran off

 _"Okay, that is not a plan."_

 _"Well, better make it one 'cause Mac's already doing his part."_ I heard Riley tell her

* * *

Me and Mac looked around the corner then snuck our way past the men then ducked down behind some barrels, "Okay, now what?" I asked him and he looked at me then at a metal bucket next to us

 _"Okay, Mac, you there? How you both doing, man?"_ Jack asked him over comm

"Well, considering I'm surrounded by radioactive waste and people who would shoot me dead on sight, not too bad, actually."

"I wouldn't let them shoot you." I told him and he smirked as he began to work. Then he put together a rolling board and we waited for two men to walk past us, "Ok, cover me."

"Always do." I told him and he wheeled across then under the truck and I kept an eye out

 _"Here's more bad news. We only got 30 minutes left to find Sergei."_ Riley tells us

 _"Hey, there's no way we're going to find him going room to room like this. This place is too big."_ Jack added and there was a pause, _"Come on. Okay, I have an idea, Riley, but you're gonna have to translate something for me."_ I heard him tell her

* * *

I continued to duck behind the barrels and I peaked out slightly when I see someone look over at where I was and start to head my way, "Shit." I whispered and quickly ducked back in.

 _"Val?"_ Mac asked me but I stayed quiet as the guy got closer but then someone yelled for him and he walked away.

"I'm good."

 _"Okay, you two, we got Sergei. We're headed to you now."_ Jack says to us over the radio

"Ah, great, yeah. Almost done. Meet us in the loading area." Mac told him

 _"Will do."_

* * *

 _"Okay, Mac, we're here. So what's the plan for, you know, not sticking around?"_ Riley asked him

"All right, I disabled every truck except for the one we're gonna use to get out of here." He told her and made his way back over to me

"Yeah, sounds good, get it, man, get it. 'Cause, hey, listen, I don't think Sergei is gonna be outrunning anybody, bro." Jack says and we get over to the truck

"Okay, meet us by the lone green cargo truck by the hangar door. Be ready to roll."

"Copy that. All right, here we go, big man. Don't screw this up." I heard Jack say and I peaked out to see them slowly make there way to us, "I got you. I got you, come on. Just lean on me, lean on me. Few more steps and we're home free. Truck's right here. Yeah, almost. Here we go, baby." Jack said then sneezed

"Really Jack?" I asked him and see the men move around them aiming their guns.

* * *

"You guys, we got a big problem." Riley told us as we climbed into the truck

"I see it. Okay, first things first. We got to get this thing started. So, I will..." Mac started to say and Riley dropped the visor down getting the keys, "...wait for you to find the keys. Go ahead, crank it." He told her and she started the truck then backed up

"I hope these guys aren't dumb enough to shoot at barrels of radioactive waste."

"Jack, get down!" Mac yelled to him and I see Jack force Sergei down as we drive over them then Jack started firing his gun and Mac got out to help Sergei in.

"Get in there, get in there. Go, go, Mac." Jack told him and Mac got back into the truck, "Go! Go! Go!" Jack yells and Riley sped up driving out of the building

* * *

"Hang in there, Sergei. Hang in there. We're gonna get you some help, I promise you." Jack reassured him as I leaned on Mac

"Say good-bye to Chernobyl, everyone." Riley tells us and I smiled at her

"Ah. Oh, and say hello to the Phoenix. That's probably the tac team Matty sent for us right there. We're gonna be fine." Jack pointed out and I sat up looking forward

"That doesn't look like the Phoenix tac team, Jack." I told him

"Huh?"

"Nope, that's the Ukrainian mob." Mac says and Riley stopped the truck

"What now?" Riley asked him and I got my gun ready at the same time Jack did

"We're gonna give 'em Sergei."

"What?" We all asked him

"Those dosimeter badges, this one right here, take it off, hand it to Jack." Mac tells us and Riley handed them to Jack. "Jack, wipe 'em on the barrels in back. Make sure they turn black."

"All right, ready."

"Mac, they're getting closer." I told him as Jack handed us the badges and we put them on

"Step out of the truck. Slowly." The man told us and Mac opened his door and we all got out with our hands raised, "Sergei it's good to see you. Soon we will be alone, and I'm looking forward to that time very much. I have many questions for you."

"He's all yours if you want him. I wouldn't take him, if I were you. Black badges. Yeah, you know what these mean. He's been exposed to a lethal dose of radiation we all have. Frankly, I'm surprised we're not all glowing right now. Look, you can shoot us if you want." Mac says and moved closer to them, "It's a waste of bullets, honestly, 'cause we're all dead anyway. And if any of you get near any of us, you're all dead, too." He mentioned and the guy raised his gun up to Mac

"We'll take our chances." The man said and stepped forward but got his foot in a bear trap then Jack hit the guy in front of him taking his gun and I pulled mine out of the back of my pants pointing it at them

"Drop 'em! I said drop 'em! Or you can give Dmitry your do svidaniyas right here, right now." Jack warned them

"Jack, that's Russian." Riley says

"Yeah, whatever. I think they get it." He said and the men lowered their guns.

* * *

Mac tied his belt around Dmitry's wound and he screamed in pain, "Better you than a bear." I tell him as I zip tied one of the men's hands.

"So, Mac, I got to ask. I know the bear trap was a lucky break, but how'd you trick their Geiger counters into going nuts?" Jack asked him

"Well, I turned this truck's CB radio into a high-amplitude electromagnetic wave generator, 'cause Geiger counters work by passing the current..."

"Thought you said it was simple." Jack says and Mac sighed, "You know, actually, I'm sorry, I-I don't care. I just want to make sure there's not a lot of gamma rays coming this way, you know what I'm saying?"

"There were a lot of gamma rays coming out of that..."

"No, don't-don't-don't encourage him, 'cause now we're gonna have to hear him say, "You wouldn't like when I'm angry," all the way home." Riley said cutting Mac off

"It's true, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry. I know you guys won't like me when I'm angry."

* * *

"Thanks guys." Riley says to Mac and Jack as they both opened the doors at Phoenix for us and we walked in then Mac grabbed my hand

"About damn time you guys got back." Bozer tells us walking over, "Do you know how hard it has been trying to avoid Matty while slow-playing my investigation into the break-in at her place?"

"Probably not nearly as hard as staring down radioactive pirates and the Ukrainian mob." Jack told him

"Agree to disagree, Jack. Okay, I keep telling this woman I'm hitting dead ends, and she keeps telling me to push harder. Have you figured out what you're gonna do about Matty? 'Cause I can't keep this up much longer." He says to Mac

"Yes, you can." Jack reassured him

"No, I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"Hey, hey, guys, Matty lied to me on purpose, and I don't know why, but what I do know is that she never does anything on accident." Mac says stopping them

"Agree with all that." I point out, "But the question still remains, what are you gonna do about it?" I asked him

"Are you guys gonna just stand around the hall clucking, or can we get this debrief started?" Matty asked us from the door of the war room and we headed in, "So, aside from a few missteps from Captain Sneeze-a-Lot over here."

"What can I say? I have atomic sneeze powers." Jack says

"Sergei's now in custody, and eagerly giving up all the intel that we need to dismantle the Ukrainian mob and cut off their terrorist trade routes." Matty tells us

"And what about our nuclear pirates?" I asked her

"Phoenix agents rounded up Kahn and his entire crew at the warehouse, along with a very large shipment of radioactive waste, which will now be disposed of in the appropriate manner. You were right, Mac. Going after both Sergei and the waste, it was the right move." She told him and I looked at him as he played with a paperclip and we stayed quiet, "This is a huge victory, guys. One that you should all feel very proud of. I know I'm really proud of all of you. Okay, now get out of here. Go get some rest. You guys have earned it."

"So, we have permission to celebrate?" Jack asked her

"Live it up."

"Yeah, yeah." Jack says and we walk out but then I stopped outside and watched her and Mac talk then he set the paper clip down and walked out

"Mac?" I asked him and he looked at me

"I'm fine. Come on, I have something I wanna show you." He told me and grabbed my hand.

* * *

We get back to my house and Mac opened the door while covering my eyes and I giggled, "Mac you know I hate surprises right?" I asked him and he chuckled

"You'll like this one." He says and I giggled then after helping me up the stairs he stopped me, "Ready?" He asked and I nodded my head then he uncovered my eyes and opened the door to one of the bedrooms and I looked inside seeing it filled with a bunch of kids stuff.

"There something you know that I don't?" I asked him and he smirked

"I know how you've been feeling lately with Cassian being gone." He said and I looked down then he walked over to me "But I want you to know that we will find him, and Murdoc."

"I know, but what's all this?"

"This is for when we get Cassian back. I may have trust issues with Matty right now but me and her talked awhile back about this and...when we save him, her and Oversight agreed to put Cassian in your care. To be his legal guardian." He told me and my heart stopped as I looked at him shocked.

"Are you serious?" I asked him and he nodded. I looked around the room and felt tears in my eyes then looked back at him, "Thank you Mac." I tell him and he wiped a tear away then he hugged me

"Anything for you."


	19. Chapter 19

**You can run, but you can't hide**

"'Sup, Matty?" Jack asked as he walked into the war room joining me, her and Riley

"Where's Blondie?" She asked him

"Mm-mm."

"Hi." Mac said rushing in and I looked at him with a small smile

"Nice of you to join us." Matty tells him

"I'm a fraction of a second late."

"Spare me the math. Late is late. Now, let's get this campfire going. We just got a lead on Emil Beck." She tells us bringing up the photo

"Wait, the Emil Beck?" Jack asked her

"Yes."

"Um, obviously, not all of us are caught up. Who is the Emil Beck?" Mac asked

"Don't worry, Matty. I'll take it from here. Emil Beck is a government tech nerd turned traitor that she and I have been chasing ever since he stole, get this, 300 gigabytes of classified intel and then just fled the U.S." Jack explained

"300 gigs?" I asked him

"Mm-hmm."

"One could do a lot of damage with that kind of intel." I added

"Yeah. That's why I spent so many years trying to catch this guy. Beck is not a trained spy. But with an IQ of 162, he's a quick study. He's managed to elude capture for years, staying one step ahead of law enforcement until last night. Beck was pulled over in Arkansas for a broken taillight. The officer who made the stop suspected that his ID was fake, but when he tried to bring Beck in, brace yourself." Matty tells us and we watch the video of the officer walk to the car

 _"Drop the weapon."_ The officer warned him but was gunned down

"Officer Thomas Porter was killed. Beck managed to flee the scene, but we believe that he was wounded in the shoot-out."

"Which might be the break we need. The wound may make him sloppy." Mac pointed out

"One can only hope. State police have issued a reward for his arrest, but all they have is his fake ID. They have no idea who they're actually dealing with." Matty says

"We got to stop this guy before he gets more cops killed." I mentioned

"And I think I know where to look. I've had my facial recognition code scanning every image posted online within 500 miles of that shoot-out. This was what I found." Riley said and put an image up on the screen of a little boy eating ice cream

"Uh, yeah, right. Unless he's got a severe case of the Benjamin Buttons, I don't think.."

"Just hold on, Jack. Just wait for it." Riley says cuting him off and she zoomed in revealing Beck in the background

"Where was this picture taken?" Matty asked her

"Atlanta, two hours ago."

"Go." Matty told us

* * *

"Hey how did it go at the museum? Did you find out anything?" I asked Mac as we walked to the plane.

"Unfortunately the lady told me it would be impossible to find that man in the list of all the people that were murdered and survived the camps."

"Needle meet haystack." I tell him and he gave a light chuckle

"Yeah, and just when she said that we could look in the archives I got the message from Matty."

"Hey," I said stopping him and he looked at me, "You're not alone in this ok? I'm here to help too, I'm not having any luck finding Murdoc or Cassian so the least I can do is help you find your father." I told him and he smiled then kissed me

"Have I told you I love you lately?"

"Not since this morning." I mentioned and he chuckled then put his hand on my face

"Well I do, and no matter what, we will bring Cassian home. Ok?" He asked me and I nodded my head then we continued to walk to the plane.

* * *

"Okay, Atlanta PD just put out a BOLO with Beck's current photo and real name, so we'll see." Jack informed us on the plane

"Yeah, same with the staties and the sheriffs, which means that every local lawman will be looking out for him." Mac pointed out

"Yeah, you know, it probably still won't be enough. This guy's been giving me and Matty the slip for over a decade. Take a look at the photo again. See if there's anything in there that might give us a clue on where he is." Jack tells us and I looked up at the image, "What about his injury? He's bandaged. He must've patched himself up somewhere."

"Yeah, but you can't exactly walk into an ER with a gunshot wound and keep a low profile because they call those in." I tell him

"Yeah. Yeah, so, hey, check for break-ins at local veterinarian hospitals. I've done some of my finest self-surgeries in the back of a vet's office." Jack says to Riley

"I had that same thought, but I checked the police reports and it got nothing. So now I'm checking for any robberies at clinics - and pharmacies..." She says and her computer beeped, "I think I just got something. Break-in at a drugstore on Peachtree." She mentioned and brought a list up on the screen

"Oh, yeah. The list of stolen items is exactly what you would need to self-treat a gunshot wound. This has got to be Beck." Mac says

"Except it isn't." Riley told him and brought up a different image, "Cops are looking for an Owen Palmer. He's dumb enough to let his face get caught on the security camera, but smart enough cops haven't got him yet."

"Yeah, but what are the odds that this guy would randomly steal everything that Beck needs to treat himself hours after Beck gets shot?" I asked

"Palmer's got to be one of Beck's cutouts." Jack answered

"Exactly." I said

"If Beck's hiring those criminals to do his dirty work, I see why it's been so hard to catch him." Riley adds

"Good news is, if we can find this guy, he may be able to tell us where Beck is hiding. Do we know where Palmer is now?" Mac asked her

"His phone's in a house in Grant Park."

"Excellent. Let's go pay him a little visit." Jack says

* * *

We stood at the door of the house and just as Mac was about to open it with his card Jack kicked it open and walked in raising his gun

"I was just about to use my card." Mac told him and I followed Jack with my gun raised

"It's a lot faster to kick it in and way cooler, anyway."

"Look, I don't disagree with you, but Palmer's definitely gonna know we were here now." Mac says

"Yeah, so what?"

"Got a cell phone charging over here." Riley pointed out as me and her walked into another room

"Which means he's gonna be back soon." Mac says

"Well, it's a good day for a stakeout. Whose turn is it to get snacks?" Jack asked and Mac looked at his hand then held up his card and I chuckled

* * *

We sat outside in our rental car watching the house when Riley's phone chimed, "That's the seventh text since we got here. Who's blowing up your phone, Riley?" Mac asked her

"Don't even bother. She's been dating some new guy. She won't even tell me who it is." Jack replied

"I think you need a hobby, Jack. You ever try knitting? Or CrossFit? Or, I don't know, minding your own damn business?" Riley asked him

"Hey, I bet it's 'cause the dude has a dumb name." Jack says and her phone chimed again, "You know, like Cletus or Milton or Fidget Spinner. Something like that." He said making me and Mac laugh

"See, this is exactly why I'm not discussing this with you." Riley told him

"No, the reason you're not discussing this with me is there's probably something horribly wrong with him. Probably don't even like him. Just tell me who it is."

"Do you remember what happened last time I told you about a boy I liked? Hmm?" She asked him

"Oh. Yeah, Trevor. Well, now, all I told Trevor was, he better be a gentleman or I was capable of making him disappear off the face of the planet."

"He was 12." Riley defended, "12."

"You're never too young to learn how to be a gentleman."

"The point is, I'm still trying to figure out this whole dating while working a job you can't talk about thing. Last thing I need is you in my business again. Okay?" She asked

"Okay. I didn't like Trevor..."

"Guys, guys, Palmer, Palmer." I said cutting them off looking out my window seeing him walk down the sidewalk and we got out of the car

"Owen. Sorry about your door, man." Jack says as we walk over to him and I kept my gun lowered. Just as Palmer was about to run away a red truck pulled up cutting him off and he stopped then 4 people got out raising their guns at him and I looked at Riley confused

"End of the road, pal." One of them says

* * *

"Angus MacGyver. As I live and breathe. How you doing?" The one lady asked him

"Mama Colton. What are you guys doing here?"

"Chasing a felon who gunned down a police officer in Arkansas. We have reason to believe that Mr. Palmer here can lead us to him." She told him

"Uh, dibs." Jack said

"Dibs? What, are you ten?" The one guy asked

"Nope. Ten's being generous." Riley says to the guy

"You know, it seems like you guys have a lot to work out here, so why don't I just..."

"Shut up, Owen! You're not going anywhere. Butt out of it." Jack warned him

"Okay."

"Look, look, look. Not that we're not happy to see you guys, but what's your business with this man?" The other girl asked

"Our business is our business, but trust me when I tell you that you're in way over your head with this one. The guy you're chasing is bad news. Please let us take it from here." Mac tells them

"And "please" is being courteous, Mama. We like you. But y'all are bail bonds. We're federal agents. I'm pulling rank. He's coming with us. Have a nice day." Jack told them and the other man holding a shot gun cocked it and I lifted my gun up

"I don't think so."

"It's all right, baby. Mama knows when a dog won't hunt. Clearly, this case is in very capable hands. So we're just gonna let our government friends take it from here. Mm-hmm. Good luck with that." Mama said and I lowered my gun, "Come on. Come on." She says and they head back to their truck but I saw her whisper something to them

"Get your ass over here, Owen." Jack warned him, "What's the matter with you?" Jack asked and the truck started then they drove off'

"You believe her?" Mac asked me

"Well considering I don't know her like you guys do, no, not for a second." I said and we went back into the house

* * *

"Sit down. Shut up." Jack said to Palmer forcing him into a chair

"Hey, you can't do..."

"Let's get comfy. Listen, we know all about your little pharmacological B&E. All right?" Jack asks

"What?"

"Just stop. We know you took the drugs. Pharmacy got you on video." Jack says

"Yeah. Pharmacy's not ringing any bells. Maybe, if I saw the video..."

"I should tell you a little something about me. I'm not a patient man. So we're gonna start over. And you're gonna tell the truth. Or I'm gonna start ringing your bells for you. You understand? And if you still don't fell like telling the truth I'll have the master interrogator try." Jack told him indicating to me and Palmer looked at me and smile, "Boy you better put those eyes back in your head." Jack threatened him and Palmer looked away from me and back at him then I heard Riley's computer chime

"Before you do, Riley, you got something?" Mac asked her

"Oh, yeah. I got everything the Coltons have on Beck's activities before and after the shoot-out in Arkansas. While you two were trying to big-dog Mama, I was hacking Billy's cell. Which I then used to access the Coltons' shared cloud drive. I'm sending all this to Bozer and Matty now. Hopefully, this will help them figure out why Beck came back to the U.S., and where he is now."

"Okay, we know his name's Beck. You know him. Palmer, we know you know him. Where is he?" Jack asked him

"I ain't telling you nothing. All you got on me is that I swiped some scripts. That's a year inside. Tops. Bring it on."

"Okay, normally, when you rob a store the way you did, it is, it's just a slap on the wrist, but you stole drugs for a man who's wanted for treason by the U.S. government. Know what that makes you? Hmm? A traitor. And what's treason going for, these days?" I asked Mac

"Last I checked, it was a minimum sentence of five years in prison, with a maximum penalty of, um..."

"Hanging from a rope till you're dead, right?" Jack asked

"No, they don't do that anymore. It's lethal injection now." I tell him

"Oh, yeah. Lethal injection. How does that sound? Ringing any bells, pal?" Jack asked Palmer

"All right. All right, fine. But I don't know much."

"So how does Beck contact you?" Riley asked walking over

"Dark Web. Always the Dark Web. Pay is good, the jobs are easy."

"Where did you give Beck the drugs?" I asked

"I didn't. I've never even seen him in person. I was supposed to take the stuff that he wanted, put it into a blue gym bag, and drop the bag at the lost and found at Village Fitness."

"That's two miles away." Riley told us looking at her computer

"Matty's gonna want to interrogate Captain Sticky Fingers here, about his relationship with Beck, so what's next?" Jack asked

"We don't have time to wait around for a tac team to come grab him. So we need to put him on ice, now." Mac says and we wrapped Palmer up in a rug then put him in the hall closet

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, hey, hey! Hey. Okay, now, let's be reasonable, okay? What are you..." He began to ask as I held up duct tape tearing some off, "Wait hold.." He says but I put the tape over his mouth

* * *

"Goodness gracious." Jack says as we walked into the gym seeing a guy lifting up a bar filled with heavy weights

"Aw, you could do that, Jack." Riley tells him

"Yeah, that's a lot of weight right there, Ri."

"You should go try it." She says

"Okay."

"No." She said and stopped him

"Welcome to Village Fitness. How can we help you folks achieve your health and fitness goals today?" A trainer asked walking over

"We only have one goal today, and that is finding this gentleman. He may have come here, looking for a blue bag?" Mac asked him holding up his phone showing the image

"You cops?"

"Serving a subpoena." I told him

"All four of you?"

"That's right, Beef Swellington, all four of us." Jack told him

"These two are shadowing me and her," Mac says indicating to me and him then Jack and Riley, "Because they're new to the firm, obviously."

"I'm sorry. If I'd have seen that guy, I would've signed him up immediately for CrossFit. Perfect for the aspiring athlete with more of a lanky build. Would do wonders for you, my man." The trainer said and put his hand on Jack's shoulder

"Yeah, yeah, I-I agree with that, too." Riley mentioned and I hid back a smile as the guy slowly took his hand off Jack's shoulder

"Are you sure you haven't seen this guy? Maybe he walked in with a hat or glasses?" I asked

"Pretty sure. But I just started my shift. Hey, Cindy?" He called to a blonde who was standing at a arm press

"Yeah?"

"Did you open today?" He asked her

"Sure did."

"Come on over here." He told her and she walked over

"Hi. Welcome to Village Fitness. How can I help you achieve your health and fitness goals?" She asked us and I hung my head

"Oh, my gosh. Give me this." Jack said taking Mac's phone, "Sweetie, have you seen this guy?" He asked her

"That guy?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah. He forgot his bag, but we had it in the lost and found." She told us

"Uh-huh. Okay." Jack says

"A-And do you know where he went after he found his bag?" Mac asked her

"I sure do."

"Where?" Jack asked

"He walked outside." She says and I closed my eyes and sighed

"Great. Wow. Have a great day. Thanks." Jack said and we turned to walk out

"You know, if you hurry, you might be able to catch his girlfriend." Cindy says and we looked at her

"His girlfriend?" I asked her

"Yeah. His girlfriend and her mom stopped by to pick up the bag earlier, but I told them he already got it. They were here, like, two minutes ago. They just left."

"Son of a bitch." Jack groaned and we hurried outside and saw the red truck

"There. That's their truck." Riley pointed out

"If they're going into that building, it's got to be where Beck is hiding." Mac pointed out

"Damn it. They're gonna get to him before we do." Jack says

"Yeah, and if they do, they're not just gonna hand over their winning lottery ticket." I mentioned

"Hell no."

"That's why we're gonna make Beck come to us." Mac said and walked over to a police bike

* * *

A few minutes later we see someone throw a bag over the metal fence then climbed over and went to the ground then began to run but Jack punched him, "Ha, well, you must be Emil. Nice to finally make your..." He says but I saw the girl from earlier taser him

"Forgot to call dibs."

"Jack!" Mac yells and we run over to him but the other guy tackled him to the ground and I went over and kicked his side knocking him off Mac when suddenly we hear the truck start and we see Emil drive off in it

"Mama's gonna be.."

"Pissed." She says walking over to the two others guys and the girl, "You got that right. Now, I expect this kind of unprofessional nonsense from government agents, but from my own flesh and blood?"

"No, no, we told y'all to stand clear. We told you we'd handle it. Now because of y'all, Beck's gone, and I got tased. That hurt, girl." Jack tells the girl

"Aw, baby got tased?" Mama asked walking over to him, "Please. Only reason that man ran was because of you and your corny siren trick. If it hadn't been for y'all, he'd have been cuffed in the back of my truck by now, instead of behind the wheel, running away."

"All due respect, Mama, this isn't your average skip-trace. Organizations with a lot more resources than the Colton Bail Bonds have had a hard time catching him, is all I'm saying." I tell her

"Which is exactly why you guys have to back off and let us handle this." Riley added

"Please." Jack begged

"I don't care if he is average, extraordinary or the Devil himself. Beck is our bounty. That's Colton bounty." Mama says

"Which is why we're not going nowhere." The one guy tells us

"Exactly. So, we can either keep tripping over each other, or we can work together. What you say? You're a smart man. Do the smart thing." She says holding out her hand then Mac hesitated before shaking it

"Deal."

"Okay, but we're still in charge. Right?" Jack asked

* * *

"Which is why, strategically speaking, it makes sense for us to..."

 _"Seriously, Mac? I don't care if you're working with the Coltons or the Kardashians. All I care about is catching Beck."_ Matty says cutting him off

"And all I care about is the reward money Beck will bring in once he's collared." Mama told her

 _"Okay, and as long as you help us get him, I'll make sure you get your payday. Even if it has to come out of my own pocket."_

"Oh, now that's my kind of contract. I like her." Mama said and I chuckled

 _"So deliver the goods. Now, do we know where Beck is?"_ Matty asked

"Uh, not yet, but we're about to. The Coltons' truck was outfitted with a LoJack, which Riley and Frank are tracking now." Mac told her

 _"Well, track faster. Beck isn't the type to stick around when he feels the heat. And if he manages to flee the country this time, well, we might never see him again. Palmer was Beck's last known contact. He might have some information that can help us. Put him on a plane to Phoenix. Riley, Val you two can escort him..."_

"Hold up, wait a minute. Palmer has an outstanding warrant in Nevada. He's worth a whole lot of money, honey. And I'd feel much more comfortable if my Billy were to transport him to you for questioning, then, take him on down to Nevada for processing and payment." Mama says to her

 _"Okay. Riley, Val and Billy can transport Palmer together. Final offer."_

"All right, then. Well, do we know where Palmer is?" Mama asked

"Uh, yeah, he's rolled up in a carpet in his closet at his house." Mac told her

"Seriously?" Billy asked

"You wanted us to just let him go?" Riley asked him

"Gotcha. Guys, I found our truck." Frank told us

"Beck's heading west on Highway 20." Riley adds

"Okay, well, that's where we need to be." The girl says

"Riley, Val and Billy, grab Palmer and hop the first flight to L.A. The rest of you, go get me Beck." Matty tells us

"Come on, y'all."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"There's our truck." Mama says as we pull up then got out, we were just about to walk to it but I saw something sticking out of the gas tank

"Wait. Guys." I tell them then we ducked behind our car as the truck blew up

"Oh, Billy's not gonna like this." Jesse pointed out

"Whoo, that's got to be Beck. Rigging it to explode, then running off." Jack mentioned

"He didn't run off. He stole whatever was parked over there." Mama says pointing to a set of tire tracks

"The truck's dash-cam probably got a good view of Beck's new ride." Frank said

"The SD card for the dash-cam?" I asked him

"Glove compartment." Jesse answered

"And the glove compartment's en fuego." Jack pointed out and I looked over at a building seeing a metal drain pipe

"Hey, Jack, pop the hood, put it in neutral and floor it. I'll be back." I tell him and ran over to the pipe taking it off the side of the building then ran back over as Frank opened the hood and Jack got in the car, I grabbed my knife out cutting a hole in a part of the engine. As the liquid squirted out I put the pipe over it, "Gun it, Jack." I tell him and he pushed the gas causing the liquid to shoot out of the pipe onto the truck neutralizing the fire

"You are a very strange young man, MacGyver." Mama tells me

"Some people have mentioned it before. Hey, you got an opening." I said to Frank and he ran to the truck pulling out the SD then came back over to Jesse and her laptop then plugged it in.

"Okay, downloading the footage now." Frank says and we look at the footage

"Why is he wearing a tux?" I asked then we see Emil break the glass of a car

"Screen-grab that plate, Frank." Jesse tells him

"All right, let's figure out where he's going." I said

* * *

 **Val POV...**

Billy brought Palmer to his seat on the airplane and made him sit down then Riley's phone chimed as I sat in the seat across he aisle from them, "Your phone's been blowing up since we got through security. What's his name?" Billy asked her and I chuckled

"Good luck with that." I tell him and Riley looked at me then back at her phone

"Come on, let me guess Chip. No, no, Chuck. So, how you and Chuck meet? You been dating him long?" Billy asked her

"His name's not Chuck, okay? And why do you care?"

"Just making conversation. It's a long flight." He tells her

"Oh. Well, on long flights, I like to watch movies. You know, quietly. Without any talking."

"Is he tall?" Billy asked

"You two want to sit next to each other, or?" Palmer asked them

"No." They both answered

"His name's Ryan. All right? We met online, we've been dating a few months. You both happy now?" She asked me and Billy and I smirked at her

"Oh, you know, there's still time to make a quick call before the plane takes off." Billy says

"Thanks, but we usually just text."

"Seriously? But you have met in person, right?" Billy asked

"If I'm being honest, we haven't really seen each other that much. I travel a lot for work. Pretty busy, so..."

"Mm." Billy mumbled

"What?" She asked him

"Sorry but you know you're not actually dating this guy, right?"

"Excuse me?" She asks him

"Mostly text? Only hung out a few times, and I'm guessing these "hang outs" are late at night? And it usually starts by putting on a movie? Has he at least given you flowers?"

"The idea of a man bringing a woman flowers is outdated. Flowers die in a few days, and then what? It's just garbage in a vase." Riley pointed out

"Maybe. But I was raised to show a woman appreciation and respect. One way to do that is to give her flowers."

"Besides, flowers really brighten up a room." Palmer adds and I look over at him

"Not that it's any of your damn business either of you but I just don't have time for some super complicated relationship right now." Riley defended looking at them then me

"Me and Mac make it work." I tell her

"Well that's because you both work together."

"I don't buy that. At all." Billy pointed out, "No, see, I've met women like you. Awesome and bad-ass in every single way except when it comes to romance. You don't go all in because...and, now, I'm just guessing here but the woman who hacks everyone's secrets has massive trust issues." He told her

"I didn't know they offered psychotherapy classes at bounty hunting school."

"Look, what you need is a man that you can count on. One that always comes through and never lets you down." He says

"And let me guess, you're that kind of man."

"Your words, not mine." He told her and I snorted

"All right, I'm gonna need you to dial it down on the cockiness."

"Look, in my line of work, confidence is key. Now, the guys that I deal with every day will chew you up and spit you out if they smell one shred of weakness."

"You know, I have been known to..." Palmer started to say

"Hey, shut up, little man. Now, if you want to know what kind of guy I am, Ms. Davis, all you got to do is just look through my phone." He says to her and she looked at him, "Yeah. I know about that." He mentioned and she looked at me, I shrugged while smiling then pulled out my headphones putting them in.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"And we're sure this is where he went?" Jack asked as we looked out the window of the car at a mansion

"Well, according to your people, the car Beck stole is parked on this property right now." Jesse says

"Any idea who owns this place?" I asked

"Huh. Looks like it's actually owned by a shell company. Which is owned by another shell company." Frank said

"Making this a very shady charity event." Mama pointed out as I handed Jack the binoculars and my phone vibrated

"Hey, Matty."

 _"Tell me you've got Beck in custody."_ She says to us

"Almost. We're working on it." Jack told her

 _"Well, then work faster. I just learned what he stole from the DoD."_

"Oh, that can't be good news." Mama says

 _"It's not. 72 hours ago, the DoD discovered a security flaw in the software that regulates the engines in most planes, both commercial and military."_

"That's a heck of a flaw." I point out

 _"Yeah. Well, they were working on a patch when Beck breached the facility. The intel that he stole shows how one could access this software remotely and overheat the engines."_

"That sounds like a fancy way of saying Beck stole the ability to knock a plane out of the sky." Jesse mentioned

 _"Not a plane. Any plane at any time. You guys need to get it back. Now."_

* * *

"So, how we looking?" Jack asked me as I made my way back to the car standing by his window

"Every entrance is guarded. So much for sneaking through the back."

"Well, we've been tracking their security patterns on the satellite your boss lent us. These guys are good. Like "can't find a hole in their security" good." Jesse pointed out

"So, Mr. Federal Agent Man, what's the plan?" Mama asked Jack

"Well, I figure we climb one of these big-ass trees. Mac can make a grappling hook out of whatever grappling hook supplies you can whip up. Don't act like you can't do it. Then I'll rodeo-toss said hook across to the roof of the other mansion, and then we'll tightrope right across."

"How 'bout we walk in as guests?" I asked stating the obvious

"Yeah, that sounds good." Jack says'

* * *

Me and him walked over to a car with two guys in it and Jack tapped on the window that the driver rolled down, "You're about a 40 regular, yeah?"

* * *

I walked out from the bushes after changing and exhaled then glanced at Jack, "Hurry up. Come on. What's wrong?"

"I think we should go with the "climb a big-ass tree, grappling hook" plan. Man, this isn't gonna work." He says and I looked at him

"Oh. Oh, come on. You look great." I told him and he walked out

"What are you laughing at?"

"I'm not laughing. Skinny pants are in right now. You're actually on trend." I point out looking at how short the pants were on him

"On trend? They're high-waters."

"Okay, your infil team is ready. Oh, and, Mac, once you've stopped Beck, I'm gonna need a picture of Jack in that tux for his permanent file." Matty says to us and I chuckled

"No, there's gonna be no permanent file photo. Stop it."

"Okay, Matty. Send in infil." I told her

"Hey, let's at least trade jackets." Jack says to me

"I don't want to look stupid." I said with a chuckle then walked away

* * *

"All right, time to blend in." I tell Jack grabbing a couple of glasses from the server

"Blend in? No, thanks. Easy for you to say, James Bond. You blend just fine. Looks like I've been in a clearance sale at Tuxes for Toddlers."

I chuckled then we walked through the crowd, "Speaking of toddlers, by the way, you do know that Riley isn't one anymore, right?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked me

"She's not a little girl anymore. Your approval, it means a lot to her, and if you keep withholding it, she's gonna be forced to choose between you and whoever this new guy is."

"I'm not I'm not withholding my approval, okay? It's just that I think Riley's really awesome. I think she should have a guy that's equally as awesome. So, you know, a match." He says

"Your heart's in the right place, and if you want her to find that guy who's equally as awesome, then you got to let her look. She's gonna make mistakes, but I think you know better than anyone She's got great instincts and you need to trust her. Besides, I don't think this new guy's gonna last very long."

"Hmm?" He asked

"Billy?"

"What are you talking about?" He asked me

"Oh, you didn't see the way he was looking at her, did you?"

"Uh, no, I did not see the way he was looking at her. And if I did see the way he was looking at her, I'd break his eyeballs for him. He won't look at her that way no more I guarantee that." He said

"All right. Well, be prepared, 'cause she was looking at him the same way."

"Really?" He asked

"Do you see Beck in here at all?" I asked him changing the subject

"Ooh, no. No, but I do see Gigantor the staircase guard. I bet you dollars to donuts our boy's upstairs somewhere."

"Yeah. Probably trying to sell the glitch to whoever owns this place." I point out

"Mm-hmm. Hey, I might bust a few stitches on this kiddie tuxedo, but I think I can one-punch that guard into a midday nap for you, if you want."

"You're not gonna do that. 'Cause if you do, all the other guards are gonna come runnin'." I tell him

"Oh, come on, man. I'm all stretched out. Let me do it."

"No." I said and my phone rang, "Hey, Mama Colton, are you patched into the security team's radio system yet? I need you to move a guard for me."

"Hey, let me do it." Jack insisted

"No."

 _"Sure thing, Mac. Where do you want him?"_ She asked me

"Preferably outside."

 _"I need all security to the front entrance. I repeat, all security to the front entrance now."_ I hear Frank say and the guard continued to stand there

"Um, he's not leaving." I told them

 _"Now means now, people! Move."_

"All right, that did it. Nice work." I said and hung up the phone, "All right, let's make a move." I tell Jack and we head up the stairs then down a hall coming up on a metal door

"Well, that's not conspicuous at all. Might as well be a giant neon sign on the door that says Bad Things Happen in Here." Jack pointed out and I walked over to the door looking at it

 _"This little guy's gonna be your new best friend, giving you control of any plane, anywhere, with just the click of a button."_ I heard Beck say from the other side of the door

 _"You'll forgive me for not just taking your word for it. I am sure you don't mind providing proof."_ I heard a Russian woman tell him

 _"A demonstration? No problem. And I know just the plane."_

"Beck is gonna use the glitch to take a plane down now." I said to Jack

"Really?"

"Yes."

"That's what he thinks. Step aside, bubba, I'm gonna freight train this bad boy." Jack told me and moved back

"No, no, no, no. It's reinforced steel with titanium locks. All you're gonna do is hurt yourself and let them know we're here."

"I don't mind hurting myself." He says

"No."

"Okay, then so what's the plan? 'Cause I don't see you being able to jimmy that door open with a credit card. Wait, I might have a credit card." Jack mentioned

"Cummerbund, give me your cummerbund. It's not like you need it in that tux anyways."

"Okay. I don't see how my crumb catcher's gonna help you open a steel door." He says and I grabbed a rope off the wall

"We're gonna use our head." I tell him indicating to the bust and we used it to bust down the door. Jack moved to the guy pointing the gun taking him down and I saw the laptop on the desk then slide across grabbing the computer.

"Looks like the deal's off." I heard Jack say as I put the computer back on the desk looking at it and my heart stopped

"We're too late to stop the demo. He's already uploaded the virus."

"You mean he's already put it on some plane that's in the air right now?" Jack asked me

"Yeah. Not just any plane."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

I pulled out one of my head phones and looked over at Riley, Billy and Palmer who was snoring, "Are you kidding me? I can hear that through my head phones." I said and Billy shrugged

"Are you Val Clarke?" The flight attendant asked me

"Yes."

"There's a call for you." She said and I looked at her confused then followed her to the plane phone

"Thanks. This is Val." I answered into the phone

 _"Val, it's Mac. Does Riley have her laptop in her carry-on?"_

"Yeah, why?" I asked him

 _"Beck just used stolen intel from the DoD to sabotage your plane."_

"Like..like no in-flight movies or sabotage, like-like drop out of the sky?" I asked

"The second one, in less than five minutes." He told me and I closed my eyes

"He's already uploaded the glitch and there's nothing we can do to stop it from the ground, which means that the only person that can save the lives of everyone on board your plane is her." He told me and I looked at Riley then sighed hanging up the phone and walked over to Riley whispering in her ear what Mac told me. She looked at me and I nodded then sat back down in my seat and fiddled with my ring as she got up and grabbed her laptop out of her bag.

"Billy, I need your credit card right now, right now." She tells him and he pulled it out handing it to her, "Thanks."

"So is there anything you want to tell me?" He asked her

"Yeah. I need to get online and hack into the plane's control system," She told him then leaned towards him, "Or we're gonna crash."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Don't panic. Okay, panicking doesn't help. Here." She told him and handed back his card

"I'm-I'm not panicking, but I definitely need to hear what's going on, and I need to hear it now."

"Okay, okay. Two second version: Beck stole some secret DoD glitch that allows him to crash planes. And I guess he wants to tie up loose ends 'cause he wants to test it on ours." She explained indicating to Palmer and the plane shook then the seat belt light came on, "Okay. Okay, Beck's glitch just knocked the temperature controls for both engines offline." Riley says

"I'm assuming that's a bad thing." I point out

"Well, yeah, without them, the-the engines will overheat, and then seize, and then..."

"Yep. Got it." I cut her off

"So how much time do we have?" Billy asked

"Four minutes, give or take."

"Okay, what's the plan?" He asked her

"I don't know, but answering questions doesn't help."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"How's she doing, Matty?" Jack asked

 _"Not great. She's got less than three minutes before both engines flame out."_

"Look, that's my child up there. MacGyver, tell me you got a plan. Tell me you can do something." Mama says to me

"There's nothing we can do from down here. It's all up to Riley now." I tell her and I looked at the ground and thought about Val, about what we talked about just the other night.

 _"Mac, can you promise me something?" She asked me as we sat on my deck chair cuddled together under the blanket_

 _"Anything."_

 _She turned and faced me, "Once we find Murdoc, if he kills me.."_

 _"Val.."_

 _"Mac," She stopped me and grabbed my hand, "If he kills me, promise me that you will take care of Cassian, that you'll protect him, no matter what." She says and I saw a tear fall down her cheek and I wiped it away then kept my hand there._

 _"I promise, but nothing is gonna happen to you. I won't let it." I said and she smiled then I kissed her forehead._

 _"I love you Angus Macgyver."_

 _"I love you more Valarie Clarke." I told her and she giggled_

* * *

 **Val POV...**

I looked over and watched Riley work on her laptop as fast as she could when the plane jerked and got tossed to the side, "What's-what's going on?" I heard Palmer ask but then Billy knocked him out again

"What? You said you didn't want distractions."

"What?!" Riley exclaimed

"What? What happened?" I asked her

"I just lost the damn connection. God, I hate airplane Wi-Fi." She says and her computer beeped, "That's it."

"Looks like you got a plan." Billy pointed out

"Kind of. It's an insane plan, but insane plans always work for Mac, so...you know when your phone freezes? And you reboot it to kick out the bug or whatever was causing it to freeze. And for like a minute, it's a useless brick, until you turn it back on and it works perfectly fine, no bugs." She says

"Yeah." Billy answered

"I'm about to do that to the plane."

"Okay, so how long does it take a plane to reboot since we'll be plummeting till then?" I asked her

"Just guessing as long as we're above 20,000 feet, it should reboot before we hit the ground." She says and I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked out the window, "You both might want to tighten those up." She tells me and Billy, "These next few minutes are gonna suck." She said and I tightened my seat belt then me and her looked at each other and I nod my head. She hit a button on her computer then shut it and the power goes off on the plane then suddenly we get pushed back into our seats as it starts to fall

 _"Brace. Brace. Brace. Heads down. Stay down."_ The flight attendant tells us over the intercom and I look over at a little girl in the seat in front of RIley as she cried and a tear slipped down my cheek as I leaned forward, _"Brace. Brace. Brace. Heads down."_

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

I held my phone as the timer went off, "Three minutes is up." I told Jack and looked over at the Coltons who hugged each other

"Matty, we could use an update down here. There's a few people getting worried." Jack told her

 _"The plane's gone off radar."_ Matty tells us and my heart clenches in pain

"She did that on purpose. Right? Riley's..Riley's got this. Doesn't she?" Jack asked

 _"I don't know, Jack."_ Matty answered and I knew he saw how scared I was because he put his hand on my shoulder and I looked at him.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Riley, the engines aren't..."

"I know." She said cutting Billy off and I closed my eyes feeling her hand grab mine and another tear fell down my face.

 _I love you Angus Macgyver._

Suddenly we all get jerked back in our seat and I feel pressure against my body and I look out the window to see the plane go back up.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"She did it." Matty tells us and I sighed in relief then sat down in the chair

"Riley had this from the jump. There was no need to be worried. I wasn't worried. I can't believe you guys got worried." Jack says and I smiled

"Come here, tough guy. I won't tell anybody you were scared." Jesse tells him and they hugged

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Folks, this is your pilot speaking. I want to apologize for the scare. We should have you on the ground safe and sound as soon as possible." He tells us and I leaned my head back against my seat then looked at the little girl who's mom hugged her and I closed my eyes and smiled

"Hey. Hey. Everybody on this plane owes you their life, including me. What can I do to thank you?" I heard Billy ask Riley then Palmer snored

"Find a way to shut him up and we're good." She tells him and I looked at her and grabbed her hand again and she smiled.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Well, it seems every time we work with y'all, things just get completely out of hand. But Mama keeps making bank." She says to me and Jack

"Yeah, about that. Mama, we can't allow you to take them in and collect the bounty. I-I'm sorry." Jack tells her

"Why not?"

"It's a national security thing." I answered, "But rest assured, the Coltons will get paid. You helped our boss find someone who's eluded her for years." I added

"You damn right. And we will be collecting all bounties and rewards, plus incidentals, and a small finder's fee on top."

"Always a "plus" with you, right, Mama?" Jack asked her

"That's right."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

I get walked into the terminal at LAX following the agents who came to get Palmer when I looked over and saw Mac standing there, I smiled and walked over to him and he hugged me which I returned, "Were you worried about me Angus Macgyver?" I asked him and he chuckled then looked at me.

"No. I was scared, I came way to close to losing you this time and it actually scared me." He said and I saw the look in his eyes.

"Well I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me." I smiled and he kissed me, "Which is why I was thinking, while I was up there, and what just happened isn't the only reason for this but it helped me realize..."

"Val, you're rambling." He says and I sighed

"Let's get married."

"We are, remember I proposed to you and we set a date." He tells me and I shok my head

"No, let's get married now. Screw the whole planning it out thing, I don't need a big wedding, just you and our friends at the courthouse or hell we could get married on the deck of your house or the backyard of my house. I don't care, I just want to be Mrs. Angus Macgyver already, I don't want to wait anymore."

"Are you sure?" He asked me and I nodded

"I've never been more sure about anything. What do you say?"

I saw the hesitation on his face then he smiled, "Let's do it." He said and I giggled then he kissed me

* * *

"Do you Angus Macgyver take Valarie Clarke to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part, for as long as you both shall live?" The minister asked him and Mac smiled at me as we stood in the backyard of my house.

"I do."

"Do you Valarie Clarke take Angus Macgyver to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." I said with a smile still looking at Mac

"Then by the power invested in me by the state of California I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss your bride." He tells Mac who put his hand on my face and kissed me while the others clapped and I smiled into the kiss and we looked at each other.

"I love you Mr. Macgyver."

"I love you too, Mrs. Macgyver." He says and I giggled then kissed him again.

 **Murdoc POV...**

I stood off in the distance whistling "Here comes the bride" as I watched my daughter and Angus get married and I smiled to myself.

"Now the fun can really begin."

 **A/N: I'm sorry it took so long to update don't hurt me. I got distracted with other things and my work schedule is crazy but I'll will work on posting more. Also I was wondering if any of you loyal readers new how to make fan-made music videos? I tried a program on my laptop and it didn't go so well so if anyone knows how to I was wondering if you could make a couple for this story, if so PM me and let me know. I hope you liked this update. TTFN**


	20. Chapter 20

**You can run, but you can't hide**

 _10,000 Feet over the European Countryside...and climbing_

"Current ground speed 40 miles an hour. Altitude: 10,200 feet." Riley tells us as we laid on a trampoline that was being carried by...well a ton of balloons, I reached up and held onto the side of it closing my eyes. I really hate heights

"Riley, please stop using the word "ground." It's making it hard for me to think." Mac told her

"He's afraid of heights." Jack told her

"He's not the only one." I added

"I'm the one who almost died in a plane crash last week."

"Jack, shut up." Mac tells him

"This is a totally different situation. You're on a trampoline tied to a bunch of balloons. This is probably the end." Jack says and I smacked his arm

"Guys, I am trying to think." Mac says

"All right, well, your thinking is what got us into this situation in the first place." Jack pointed out

"Yeah, but his thinking is what probably saved our lives. We're lucky we even got out of there." I told him

"Lucky? The very definition of unlucky is being in a situation where the only way out of it is to recreate something you saw in a kids' movie."

"Guys, we got a problem." Riley says

"You mean another problem, put it on the list." Jack mentioned

"Wind's changing direction, it's really picking up. We're heading towards the ocean."

"Wind speed will continue to increase as the air thins and we approach the jet stream." Mac pointed out

"Well, that means we got to get down. Like, right now. How are we gonna do that?" Jack asked

"We got to start popping balloons." Mac said and I opened my eyes and looked at the balloons but Jack beat me to it and started shooting them

"Oh! What are you doing?" Mac asked him

"I'm saving our lives the Jack Dalton way. Val!" Jack says and I pulled out my gun and shot them as well

"It's working!" Riley tells us, "9,900 feet, 9,800 feet!"

"Whatever works." Mac said and I laughed shooting a few more

* * *

"So, after we all left New Orleans, Director Webber arranged for me to work for the CIA instead of going to prison. Thank you, again, for that." Dawn says to Matty, "And the Agency assigned me to the L.A. field office, had me creating cover identities. My supervisor was an analyst. His name was Paul Carter."

"Is there a reason you're referring to him in the past tense?" I asked her

"Yesterday Paul was killed in a car accident."

"Well, according to the local news, he was driving double the speed limit on a narrow road and flipped his SUV." Riley informed us puilling the info up on the screens

"That's what they say, but I don't believe he was killed in a car accident. I think someone murdered him."

"What makes you say that?" Matty asked her

"'Cause the day before the crash, Paul told me he found evidence that someone was creating fake passports to bring people into the U.S. without the CIA's knowledge, and that someone was an agent."

"That's a pretty serious accusation. Did it happen to come with a name?" Matty asked

"No. Paul was still working on that, which is why I told him not to blow the whistle yet. He wanted to go to his superiors and inform them right away, but I told him not to say anything until he knew who he was accusing."

"Well, that's wise counsel. I would have suggested the same." Mac told her

"Well, then, we both would've been wrong, because Paul listened to me, and the next day he was dead."

"So you think this agent, whoever it may be, killed Paul to shut him up?" I asked her

"Mm-hmm. And I can't help feeling like, if Paul hadn't listened to me, he might still be around right now."

"Dawn. Would you please give us a minute?" Matty asked

"Yeah, I'll, uh, I'll walk you out." Jack says getting up and walked her to the door, "Hey, hey. We're gonna figure this out, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you." Dawn said and Jack closed the door

"So? What's our first move?" Jack asked us

"Honestly? Figuring out if we can believe that story or not." Mac told him

"And why does that have to be our first move?"

"Maybe because, last time we saw her, she was scamming people under a fake name and stole your TV? Dawn's a con artist, Jack." Riley explained to him

"Ex-con artist. Riley, she's retired."

"Is she?" She asked him

"Mm-hmm."

"You seem to forget she didn't just have a change of heart, she was facing serious jail time when we caught her. "Retiring" is the only way she avoided a ten-by-ten box." Riley says as me and Mac shared a look

"Are you sure these issues with Dawn aren't of a personal nature for you, Riley?" Jack asked her

"My issue...singular is that this woman takes advantage of people for fun and profit."

"Again, it's, uh it's past tense." Jack said

"What makes you so sure that you can trust her? I mean, did she even tell you she was in L.A. after we got back from New Orleans?" Mac asked

"No no, and I know that looks bad. It's not very nice, but it doesn't mean she's lying about all this."

"You're right, it doesn't. But the evidence here does not back up her story. From what I can see from this photo, it looks like Paul was just driving too fast and ran off the road." I explained indicating to the screens

"Yeah, but when it comes to the CIA, looks can be deceiving." Bozer pointed out

"Exactly, Bozer. Listen, listen, guys. I've spent time with Dawn, okay? And when you get past the many felony layers, she's a good person. I think she's honest, I think she has good instincts, and if she says there's something rotten in the CIA, it wouldn't be the first time. Matt I-I have no reason not to believe her." Jack tells us

"Okay, you know what? It doesn't matter if we believe Dawn or not. Okay? If what she's saying is true, then something terrible is going on. And her story's worth checking out." Matty says

"All right, then. Now what's our first step?" Mac asked

* * *

"Hey you." Mac says walking up to me as I stood at the coffee machine in the break area.

"Hey back." I replied with a smile and he kissed me, "Want some?" I asked indicating to the coffee but she shook his head.

"No, I'm actually in the mood for something else." He tells me moving closer and placed a light kiss on my neck.

"Angus Macgyver we are at work." I scolded while smirking and he chuckled

"I'm sorry but my beautiful wife wasn't home when I woke up this morning so I missed the chance to say good morning to her."

I sighed then faced him, "I'm sorry, I just...I went for a run and by the time I got back I showered then came here because someone was gone already. Forgive me?" I asked batting my eyelashes and he put his hands on my hips and kissed me.

"Of course, you'll just have to make it up to me."

"I think I have a few ideas." I said and kissed him again

* * *

"Okay, well, first off, Dawn was right. Someone deleted this hard drive two hours and 14 minutes before Paul was killed." Riley tells us

"Supports your theory." Mac said to Dawn

"Yeah, but it's still a long way from hard evidence or even actionable intel." Matty adds

"Think I got something. Whoever tried to erase this hard drive didn't know the difference between a delete and a true wipe. I can still recover a lot of this." Riley says and looked at her computer, "You're not gonna believe this."

"What?" Matty asked her and Riley put the photos up on the screens

"You found the fake passports. Means Paul was right." Mac pointed out

"Yep, 40 times over." Riley mentioned

"What? Did you know that there were this many?" Matty asked Dawn

"Paul didn't share much detail with me."

"According to his case files, he just started tracking these people down, hoping one would lead him back to Echo. Who's Echo?" Bozer asked

"It looks like that's the code name Paul gave that dirty agent he was hunting." Riley says

"Okay? You know what, I've seen enough. You were right. Paul was onto something big, and someone killed him to cover it up. Now, I want to know who this Echo is, and just what the hell is going on." Matty tells us

"Yes, ma'am." Mac says

* * *

 _"Okay, Matty, Bozer and I are about 30 minutes away from the current address of Caroline Grant, or whatever her real name is. Any luck locating the other people on the fake passports?"_ Mac asked over the comm

"So far, I've only got two current addresses, one for the woman you're about to meet, and a man living in Lincoln, Nebraska, supposedly named Robert Kemp." Riley told them

"Jack and Dawn are headed to Lincoln to question him now, but remember, we have no idea why someone inside the CIA set these people up with fake passports. So I need you guys to proceed with caution." Matty adds

 _"Don't I always?"_ Mac asked and I rolled my eyes

"No, but really, this time, okay? If we scare them, we could blow our best chance at identifying Echo and getting to the truth here." Matty told him

 _"Copy that. We'll be in touch."_

* * *

"I do hope you packed an umbrella today 'cause I'm about to make it rain up in this..." I heard Bozer say as me and Matty rounded the corner seeing him and Mac bring in a cart full of bags that had the money in it

"No smiling till we catch the counterfeiter, Boze." Matty tells him and looked at the bags, "Huh. To be honest, I thought it'd be a lot bigger."

"Yeah, well, a million dollars in hundred-dollar bills is actually only 20 pounds, so this is $20 million." Mac pointed out

"If, you know, any of it were real." Bozer added and I saw Riley walk over

"Whoa. That's a lot of fake money." She says picking up a buddle then put it back down

"What do you got for me?" Matty asked her

"Some bad news. According to Paul's file, he suspected there were at least 40 more fake passports he couldn't find yet.

"So, even if we busted everyone that we know of, there'd still be more people out there muling fake money." I point out

"And since the three we already have in custody are refusing to speak, we still have no idea who is running this counterfeiting ring." Matty adds

"That's true. But we didn't fly out all these fake Benjamins just for a fun entrance. I've got an idea that might get us one step closer to figuring out where this phony money's being made." Mac said

* * *

"A gigantic stack of hundred-dollar bills? For me? Guys, you shouldn't have." Jill tells us as we walked into the lab while Mac pushed the cart and I chuckled

"Don't get too excited, Specs. It's all fake." Matty told her

"But the paper these fake bills are printed on is real, which I'm hoping will give us a lead. See, U.S. paper currency is, quite frankly, one of the dirtiest things on the planet. The cotton and linen blend attracts and holds pathogens for a very long time." Mac explained

"Like, how long?" Bozer asked him

"Uh, well, let me put it this way, the flu virus can last 48 hours outside of the human body, but on cash, 17 days."

"Well, that's disgusting." I said

"Extremely. But I'm hoping that's gonna be a good thing for us 'cause this stuff has been shrink-wrapped since it got shipped." Mac tells us

"So it's been holding germs from the place where it was printed?" Matty asked

"Meaning we can use microbial forensics to analyze the pathogens and find clues to its geographic origin." Jill says

"That's the idea. Yes." Mac tells her and she smiled

"All right, nerds. Time's over. Get to work." Matty told them

* * *

"Okay, from now on, I'm only using credit cards." Bozer says putting sanitizer on his hands

"All right, based on a specific blend of fungal species, pollen, and human parasites found on the sample, cross-referenced against a global database of glycoside hydrolases, I went through and..."

"Uh, Jill, nobody but Mac understands any of the words you're using." Bozer says cutting her off

"Right. Sorry. I'm just really excited."

"Okay, be excited with smaller words." Matty told her

"Long story short, your fake money was made in or near Lima, Peru."

"You, Val and Riley rendezvous with Jack and Dawn. Get your asses to Lima." Matty says to us and I nodded

"Yes, ma'am. See you later." Mac said and we walked out

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"How are things going with you and Dawn?" I asked Jack on the transport plane

"Mm-mm."

"Mm-mm"? You want to talk about it?" I asked

"No. Honestly, man, I don't know. I don't know. I like being around her. I like it a lot. She's exciting. She makes me feel like I'm your age again."

"A whole century younger?" I asked with a smile

"You just couldn't help yourself."

"Sorry." I tell him and laughed then looked at Val

"How is it being a newly wed?" Jack asked me and I sighed

"It's great, I mean nothing is really different except she has my last name now and I moved into her house but...I don't know, I think she's hiding something from me."

"What makes you say that?" He asked

"Well this morning when I woke up she was gone and she told me earlier that she went for a run but I remembered seeing her running shoes still sitting in the closet."

"Maybe she has more the one pair." He mentioned

"She has like 10 pairs of boots, 3 pairs of just normal tennis shoes and one pair of running shoes. Neither one of them were missing."

"Hmm So what do you think is going on?" He asked and I looked back at Val

"I don't know. She's been trying so hard to keep it together over the fact that we don't have any leads on Cassian but I know it's killing her. She just wants him safe and back home with her. I'm doing my best to help but..."

"Hey," He says and put his hand on my shoulder, "You being there is help enough for her, you know that. We will find Cassian and Murdoc and bring her brother home. Have some faith." He told me and I gave a small smile.

 **Val POV...**

"Access to every movie ever made and this is your choice of in-flight entertainment?" Dawn asked Riley as we looked at the screens

"I'm working, actually. Since we know the operation's running out of Lima and every money mule carries the same gray duffel bag, I hacked into Lima's airport security cameras to look for more because if we find one..."

"We can track the bags back to the fake money that's being minted." Dawn pointed out

"Exactly."

"So you're just sitting here watching the bags?" Dawn asked

"No. I'm running a custom video-image processing algorithm that looks for the bag's exact same shade of gray. So the computer's doing the watching for me." Riley explained to her

"Wow." Dawn says and I see Riley look at her phone then put it down, "Who's Billy Colton?" Dawn asked her and I looked at Riley

"None of your business."

"Really? Because you already told me an awful lot about him." Dawn pointed out

"Really?" Riley asked her

"Mm-hmm."

"Such as?" Riley asked

"Well, for starters, y'all are dating. But it's pretty new and you're not ready to tell Jack."

"I thought con artists were supposed to be good at making people like them." Riley told her

"I'm retired. Riley, if you have a problem with me, why don't you just come out and say..."

"I have a problem with you." Riley says cutting Dawn off

"Is it because Jack dated your mom?"

"This has nothing to do with my mom. This is about you and Jack." RIley told her

"He's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

"See, you think that, but you know, Jack, under that big, obnoxious, annoying, loud, overly emotional personality, he's actually a really good guy. One that always looks for the good in others, even when there's none left to be found." Riley says and I continued to focus on the screen while listening

"Oh. I think you're afraid I'm gonna hurt him."

"Oh, it's nothing personal. I'm sure you're great. But you have spent your life profiting off the pain of others, so, yeah, I'm a little worried you're gonna hurt him." Riley said

"Fair enough. But I swear I am not conning Jack. I just like him and I don't want to hurt him."

"That's good. Because if you do, I'll tap two keys and connect your DNA and fingerprints to every open homicide investigation in the country. And then, when they throw you in a dark hole, I'll tap two more keys and delete your entire existence." Riley told her

"You could really do that?"

"Oh, you want to find out?" Riley asked

"No." Dawn said and Riley looked at her tablet

"Guys, I got a shipment coming into Peru. I'm gonna task a satellite to track it to the airport till we land." Riley says to us

* * *

"Okay, guys, I'm still tracking our money mule on satellite. He's in a black SUV a few car lengths ahead." Riley informed us as Jack drove the car

"Yeah. Yeah, I got him. You know, the traffic is starting to thin out here. A few more turns, this guy is gonna realize he's got a tail." Jack points out

"So why don't we just let him go and watch him on satellite?" Dawn asked

"Unfortunately, we can't. It was really hard to find satellites in the area. The one I'm borrowing is gonna be out of range really soon." Riley told her

"So, if we can't follow him and we can't track him on satellite, how is he gonna lead us to the money mill?" Dawn asked and I saw Mac look at Jack

"You asking me? I don't..."

"I need somebody's phone." Mac says

"Yeah, don't look at me. Mine got blown right out of my hand when we were out in the sticks. Dawn, give him yours." Jack told her

"Why?"

"'Cause you owe me a TV. I'll cut you a break. We'll call it even. Let's go." Jack says and Dawn handed her phone to Mac

"Thank you, Dawn." Mac said

"Sure."

"Anyone got any gum?" Mac asked and I checked my pockets

"I might have a breath mint." Dawn pointed out and I smiled

"Yeah, I don't think he's worried about fresh breath right now. Unless is-is your breath kicking, bro? You got bad breath?" Jack asked Mac

"No. I'm gonna stick this on the SUV when we get close enough when he stops at the next light. I just..I need something glutinous."

"Glutinous." Jack mocked

"It means sticky."

"Yeah. Why didn't you say "sticky"? Just say sticky." Jack told him

"You did not know what that meant." Mac says and I pulled some out of my pocket.

"Here ya go." I told Mac tapping his shoulder and he took it then smiled at me.

"Hurry up, Mac. He's stopping." Riley told him

"Get out." Jack said to him and Mac went to get out

"Well, unlock it."

"I don't...it's not my car." Jack says and then Mac opened his door

"Figured it out." Mac says and got out but the car we were following drove off so Mac got back in, "Hit it." He told Jack but then we hear sirens and police cars pull up in front of us and behind us the shouted at us so we got out raising our hands.

"Looks like we lost our mule." Dawn pointed out

"Yo no entiendo. Amigo, what-what did we do?" Jack asked as an officer cuffed me

"We didn't do anything, except make Echo nervous." I said as I looked into the cop car and saw our faces up on their screen

"Who is this guy?" Jack asked

"Whoever he is, he called the cops on us, which means he knows we're here." Mac pointed out

* * *

"Okay, speaking as someone who's been in a lot of holding cells, that place was a dump." Dawn mentioned as we walked out of the station

"Yeah, that was pretty bad." Riley agreed

"I do not like waiting to make bail in a foreign country, man. It's gnarly. You know, we should've busted out of there hours ago." Jack says

"You really want to be hunting an international counterfeiting operation while on the run from the Lima Police Department the whole time, too?" Mac asked him

"Yeah, yeah. I mean, it'd be a challenge, but why not?" Jack asked and Mac's phone rang

"All right, I'm gonna start by saying thank you for the get-out-of-jail-free card."

 _"Yeah, you might want to hold on to that thanks, Blondie, because I think that my investigation here may have been the reason you guys got arrested there."_ Matty tells us

"Yeah. We were thinking the same thing, too, Matty. Echo got spooked. Obviously, he had some friends in Lima PD. Wasn't too hard to stop us from tailing the mule to the print shop. You know what I mean?" Jack pointed out to her

 _"Okay, well, you better get back on the trail fast because if Echo does know that you're there, then I bet they've already given the order to pull up stakes."_

"So, now we have to ID Echo before they can cover their tracks." Mac says

 _"And this is the part where you tell me your brilliant plan to locate the money mill."_

"Oh, we, uh, we lost the SUV right here, right?" Mac asked pointint to a map at the bus stop

"Mm-hmm." I answered

"Yeah, Matty, it's a, uh, neighborhood way north of the city." He says

"Yeah, but maybe he was sending us on a wild goose chase to throw us off his tail." Dawn pointed out

"Except for people trying to lose a tail head into the city where there's traffic and turns, not suburbia." Jack mentioned

"Which means this could be the location of the money mill." Mac added

"Yeah, but that's a big area. We don't have time to go door-to-door." Dawn says

"We won't have to. I'm gonna hack into Lima's power company." Riley said

"Yeah, I don't see how that's gonna help us find the dudes making the Monopoly money there, Riley." Jack tells her

"Well, like Mac said, the whole neighborhood's residential, which means all the families in the area are gonna roughly be using the same amount of power."

"But an illegal money mill printing counterfeit dollars would be drawing way more electricity." I point out

"Exactly. So I'll just write up a little script, scan all the accounts in the neighborhood, and find the outlier." Riley said

"She can really do that?" Dawn asked Jack

"Yeah. She's not even mad yet. Wait till she gets pissed off."

"Okay. Keep me posted." Matty tells us then hung up

* * *

"That house consumes more power than all the others on this block combined." Riley points out as we pull up to a big house

"And that car looks pretty familiar." Mac adds

"Looks like we just found out where the money's being made." Dawn mentioned

"Which means, Dawn, you're gonna have to wait in the car. Promise not to steal it." Jack told her

"Oh, please. This beater? Come on."

"We got two guns, ten bullets each, zero tac teams, and considering how well it went last time we just knocked on a stranger's front door, you, uh want to try something different?" Jack asked Mac who moved Jack's gun down then got out

* * *

"They've stopped the printers. Matty was right, they packed up shop." Mac tells me, Jack and Riley as we climbed into the basement window

"But we still haven't found anything to tell us who Echo is." I point out

"No." Mac says and we walked forward while Jack and Riley walked behind us. Mac was looking at something on a table when we hear a drill

"Wait, wait, wait, wait." Jack said and stopped us then moved forward looking into a cracked open door, "Remember what you said about computers, how you can't actually delete something?" He asked Riley in a whisper

"Erase?"

"Whatever. Check it out." Jack told us and we looked into the other room seeing a man drilling at a couple laptops

"Unless they do that." Riley says

"If Echo's identity was on those laptops, we just lost it." Mac pointed out

"Can I use this now?" Jack asked holding up his gun and Mac nodded then Jack cocked his gun and I pulled mine out doing the same thing, "Come on." He says and pushed open the door, "Hey. What are you doing? Drop that drill, don't move." Jack said to the guy who looked forward then pulled out a gun shooting at us and we ducked then Jack shot off a couple rounds while Mac and Riley took cover

"Well, he got half of that right." Mac says

"No, I don't give partial credit." Jack told him and I shot a couple rounds at the guy then ducked as he fired back

"Cover me." Mac told me and I moved up firing my gun as Mac moved forward carrying a hose

"Stay back, Riley, stay back." Jack told her as the guy shot at us again, "What are you doing? I got about four..." Jack says to Mac then fired off a round, "I got about three shots left."

"I have five shots left." I add and the guy shot at us then I shot back, "Never mind, I have four."

"When I tell you, crank off those last three shots." Mac tells Jack

"Well, that's a bad idea."

"Just do it." Mac says

"Okay."

"Go." Mac told him and Jack fired them off then his gun clicked. I see the man move forward slowly then Mac swung the bag at him knocking him down. I moved over to the guy and kicked his gun out of his hand

"Yeah! Right on the money." Jack said and I shook my head

"Couldn't help yourself, could you?" I asked him

"No, I could not. Don't you move."

"Two hours ago, he got a text from an L.A. number saying "Burn it down." This has got to be our CIA guy. See what you can do, Riles." Mac told her handing her the phone

"Okay. This text was sent from a burner phone. No location services. There's no way to track it."

"Maybe we don't have to." Mac says and pulled out his phone

 _"Please tell me that you ID'd the agent, because we are running into a brick wall here."_ Matty tells us

"No, we haven't, but maybe you can. We just captured a counterfeiter, and he had a text on his phone saying to shut down the whole operation."

 _"And you think it's from Echo?"_

"Riley can't trace the phone, but we're pretty sure it's somewhere in the building there with you." Jack told her

 _"Okay, go ahead and call it."_ Matty said and Riley handed me the phone and I called the number

"Hang up the phone, Matty, or your people in Peru are dead." I heard someone tell her and I looked at Mac

"Matty. Matty?" He asked

* * *

"Bozer's on his way to a CIA field office with a Phoenix tac team, but I just spoke to the building's head of security. They searched every floor. Matty's gone." Riley told us and I sighed.

* * *

We all stood in Matty's hospital room waiting for her to wake up, Mac rubbed my back and I smiled at him as Matty slowly opened her eyes, "Welcome back." Jack tells her and I smiled, "Now, we, uh, we missed you, boss lady."

"Good to see you, too, Jack. Riley, Mac, Val, Boze."

"Word on the street is that you took down Julian Halsey with a cigarette lighter, is that true?" Mac asked her

"Well, the guardrail that we hit might have helped a little."

"I'm a fan of your work." He said and I chuckled

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you don't mess with Matty the Hun." Bozer says and I smacked his arm

"What did you just say?" Matty asked him

"Abort that. Abort that." Jack tells him

"Uh Me? Nothing. I-I didn't say anything."

"Call me that again, Boze, and there won't be enough morphine in this entire hospital to ease your pain." Matty says to him and I bit back a smile

"Copy that. Yes, ma'am."

"So, where is Julian now?" Matty asked

"He's two doors down. Handcuffed to a hospital bed, of course, guarded by two federal agents. And more good news is, when he does finally wake up, he will be arrested and charged for conspiracy, defrauding the United States government, and murder." I told her

"Yeah. Yeah, going directly to jail. Not passing go, not collecting 200 counterfeit dollars, none of that." Jack adds

"And the good news doesn't end there. The counterfeiting operation in Peru has been shut down." Riley told her

"Indeed, it has. And the National Police confiscated all the relevant evidence, including $247 million in fake hundreds and $4 million in real one-dollar bills. The fake money is being destroyed as we speak." Bozer says and we looked at him confused

"What's wrong, Mac?" Matty asked him

"It's-it's probably nothing."

"What is it?" She asked again

"We, uh, we actually found $5 million in one-dollar bills in that house in Peru."

"We did?" Jack asked

"Not according to the paperwork Phoenix received." Bozer pointed out

"Please tell me that Dawn is in the waiting room." Matty says to Jack

"Well, no, she had to go to work over at the CIA. She's really busy over there. She has a lot of work to do," Jack says and I see it hit him, "Oh, my God. Did that happen again?" He asked and Mac sighed

"Hate to say I told you so." Riley said to him

"What are you people still standing here for? Go find me that woman, and get me back my million dollars now." Matty told us and we left.

* * *

After me and Mac got home I set my bag down and sighed then felt him wrap his arms around my waist, "What a long couple of days huh?" He asked and kissed my head

"You could say that again." I said then faced him putting my arms around his neck, "I'm just glad Matty's ok."

"Me too," He tells me and I kissed him, "Wanna head up to bed?"

"Yes please," I said and we headed towards the staris but I stopped and looked at him, "Just curious, do you still have that uniform you wore when you pretended to be from the gas company?" I asked him and he looked at him with a smirk

"I do not, why?"

"Oh you know, I can't resist a man in a uniform." I tell him with a smirk then started to walk away but he stopped me and pulled me to him

"I may not have that but I believe I still have my old Army one." He tells me and I kissed him then grabbed his hand and we made our way upstairs.

* * *

I looked over at Mac who was still asleep next to me and I gave a small smile then slowly got out of the bed carefully so I wouldn't wake him then grabbed his shirt that was one the ground and a pair of my PJ shorts putting them on and walked out of the room closing the door quietly.

I headed down stairs and checked the door and alarm panel then went to the kitchen grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge and walked over to my basement door turning on the light then shut the door behind me and walked down heading into the spare bedroom that was down there. I walked over to the desk and turned on the computer monitor, typed in the password then the screen popped up with the facial recognition software I had Riley give me and looked at the screens. I took a drink of water then set it down getting up and walked over to a board I had set up next to the desk and looked at the picture of Murdoc.

"Where are you hiding my brother you son of a bitch?" I asked quietly to myself and sighed.

 **A/N: Ok so I know that when season 3 starts Mac would still be living in his house but for the purpose of my story h moved in with Val so they could start their memories in there. Yes Val is back to her obsession with finding Murdoc and her brother and hiding it from Mac. That will be explained later on. As always I hope you enjoyed this chapter, fell free to review and if you want to, throw in some suggestions on what you would like to see.**


	21. Chapter 21

**You can run, but you can't hide**

"Mac stop it!" I laughed as he continued tickling my ribs

"Then surrender." He told me as he continued

"Never!" I giggled still holding onto the remote

"We're not watching The Breakfast Club again." He says and stopped

"Why not? It's a classic." I said and he smiled, "Fine, you can pick the movie but I swear if it's Die Hard I'm gonna have to hurt you."

"Promise or a threat?" He asked and I smiled then he kissed me before getting up and walked over to the TV putting a movie in then walked back over and I cuddled up to him as he started it.

"Mac!" I smiled when I saw the opening title and he laughed but I just rolled my eyes and we watched it. I started to doze off and he nudged me.

"Hey sleepy head, why don't you head on up to bed?" He asked and I shook my head

"I'm comfy right here."

He chuckled then kissed my head, "I'll be up shortly ok?" He says and I looked at him

"OK." I said and kissed him then got up and headed upstairs.

 **Mac POV...**

After Val went up stairs I turned off the movie and the living room lights then headed upstairs but instead of going into the bedroom to join her I walked into the guest room across the hall and sat down at the desk in there with the microscope that had the gear attached to it and looked at it then the picture of the prisoner, next thing I knew my eyes started getting heavy and I laid my head down on the desk.

* * *

 **Jack POV...**

"Hey, Mac! You home?" I asked walking into their house then checked my watch, I got there ten minutes after Val texted me to get Mac because she had to run an errand before heading to the office, "Hey, man. Where you at?" I asked looking around the kitchen then headed upstairs and looked through the cracked open door of their guest room and walked in seeing him asleep at the desk, "Hey, Mac. Mac, what are you doing? Hey. You alive?" I asked then he jolted up

"External force is always zero."

"Huh? What kind of weird dreams you having, dude?" I asked him

"I was giving a lecture, on the, uh Lagrangian formulation of quantum field theory. Ah. To a class full of ten unicorns."

"Hmm. Well, aside from the unicorns...which are wicked awesome...sounds like a frickin' nightmare." I told him sitting down on the edge of the bed

"What time is it?"

"It's 11:00." I point out

"What? Where's Val?"

"She had an errand to run and wanted me to come get you, she didn't want to disturb you." I told him and he sighed, "Yeah, you know, I-I figured you were pulling another all-nighter, looking for your mystery man. It's been weeks, and you still haven't found anything. I'm starting to get worried. You're burning the candle at both ends here, and for what? For what?" I asked him then clapped my hands together and stood up, "Let's go."

"Actually, I found something." He said stopping me and I looked at him

"Really?" I asked

"Yeah."

"What?" I ask

"A name. Charles Pfeffer."

"Who?" I asked him walking over to the laptop

"Charles Pfeffer." He told me and I looked at the photo

"This is great. All right. Let's just go track down this fella."

"Already tried. Turns out, 72 years ago, he got off a boat at Ellis Island, got a New York I.D. and then well, he just disappeared. There's no employment or housing records." He pointed out

"Any living family? Anything like that?"

"No. No family, nothing. Yeah. I thought I'd made a major breakthrough. It turns out it's another dead end." He says

"What are you talking about? This is great. This is just another bump in the road, and a good opportunity for the both of us to start thinking outside of the box when it comes to looking for your dad."

"Did you just find a silver lining in a dead end?" He asked me

"I'm an optometrist."

"Optimist." He corrected

"Whatever." I tell him and his phone chimed

"Matty?" I asked

"Yeah."

"Let's go, we're late." I told him and he stood up then we headed down stairs, "Unicorns. Really?"

"Yeah. They were wicked smart, too."

 **While that was going on...Val POV...**

I sat down the block from a light blue house with vines growing on an arch that sat at the top of the steps and just watched as I saw an old lady walked outside grabbing the newspaper off the deck then yelled at some kids that were skate boarding on the sidewalk and they left. I sighed then watched her walk back in then my phone chimed.

 _Sleeping beauty is awake. On our way to the office._

I read Jack's message and put my phone down, I hated lying to Mac about what I've been doing but if he knew about it he would tell me that it's dangerous and I should stop, but I can't I needed answers. What made the guilt even worse was thinking about how he told me about Nikki and how she lied to him...

 _"What's this from?" I asked Mac as we laid in bed, it's been 2 weeks since we've been dating and I noticed the scar on his shoulder._

 _"Oh that's um...before we brought Riley to the team we had another hacker, Nikki, she was good and when we had a mission to collect a bio weapon she was held at gun point when me and Jack got back to the van. Some arguing went on and the man that had her shot her, when I went to charge at him he shot me too, right there," He indicated to the scar, "Our old director Thorton gave me 3 months to recover because well...me and Nikki were involved," He told me and I looked at him, "I thought she was dead but turns out the guy shot her with a blank and she had been lying to all of us, she was actually under cover from the CIA who was after a mole known as Chrysalis which turned out to be Thorton."_

 _"Wow." I said shocked_

 _"Yeah, anyways after we arrested Thorton Nikki went back to the CIA and we were gonna try it again but it got to hard. She's moved on and so have I. I even forgave for the fact that she lied, but she did it to keep herself safe."_

 _"I'm sorry I..." I started to say but he looked at me and put his hand on my face_

 _"It's ok, you didn't know."_

 _"Maybe I should read old mission reports to catch up." I said with a smile and he kissed me._

Remembering that made my gut twist with guilt as I continued to look at the house then my phone chimed again

 _War room. Now!_

I read the text from Matty and I started the car then drove off heading to Phoenix.

* * *

"Now that we are all finally here, remember that EMP that we lost?" Matty asked us and I looked at Riley

"Of course." Mac said

"Well, we've just been given an opportunity to get it back. After your encounter with these guys on the back of that C-17, the whole group fell off the grid. But 12 hours ago, we intercepted chatter suggesting that they're setting up a sale. The EMP is about to switch hands."

"Do we know who the buyer is?" Riley asked

"And what they want it for?" I add

"Unfortunately, we do not. However, we do know exactly when and where the sale is going down." Matty informed us and pulled up the image of a building

"That looks an awful lot like a parking garage." Jack pointed out

"That's because it is a parking garage, Dalton. And this particular parking garage is located in Seoul, South Korea. The sale's being set up for tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m., which means you five are wheels-up in 20." Matty said and we started to head to the door, "Guys. This is our one shot to grab that device, and a bit of redemption. Make it count."

* * *

"Faster, Jack, they're getting away!" Mac tells him as we followed our target while Jack drove.

 _"Why do I show you three racing through Seoul at 90 miles per hour? Guys? Guys. Hello? Do you copy?"_ Matty asked

"H-Hey, Matty, guess what?" Jack asked her

 _"The buy went bad."_

"Yeah. Uh, short version, it wasn't so much of a sale as it was a fatal ambush where the buyers killed the sellers and then split with the EMP. We're tailing them now." Mac told her and Jack honked the horn

"Watch it!"

 _"Good. Whatever you do, do not lose sight of that device. Riley, Bozer, I need to know exactly who we're chasing. Get me intel."_ She told them

 _"Copy that, Matty."_

* * *

"Ooh. Ooh, you know, these G Wagons can get it. This is some pretty precision driving. Spec ops, ambush tactics. I don't know who these dudes are, but they're well-trained." Jack says serving between the cars

"That's the airport up ahead. And it doesn't look like they plan on sticking around Seoul much longer, does it?" Mac asked him

"No, it does not. Both of you put on your safety belts."

"It's on." Mac told him and we get to the airport seeing the plane take off

"Well, I don't suppose you could whip up a set of wings for this van real quick." Jack says as we got out of the van

"Probably. But I just thought of something way faster." Mac pointed out indicating to the private jet not to far from us so we ran to it climbing aboard

"Surprise, surprise. Hands up, gentlemen. We are officially commandeering your vehicle." Jack told the pilots

"Hi. I'm really really, really sorry about this." Mac told the old couple sitting in the back

"Where are we going?" The one pilot asked Jack

"Follow that plane."

* * *

"Fellas, you don't want to get in here?" Jack asked holding up his phone to take a picture "Come on. Hey. Hey, there we go." He says taking the picture as the pilots continued to look forward and Mac looked at him, "Hey, don't look at me like that. When I tell people I was in a high-speed jet chase, I'm gonna need some selfies as proof. Smile you two," He told us and I rolled my eyes after he took the photo, "Hey, there we go. Aw, that's a good one."

"Hey, uh, Matty, any idea where these guys are taking the EMP?" I asked her

 _"I've got our techs working up a list of every high-value target that one could reach with that kind of jet and a full tank of gas. Military bases, nuclear plants, industrial centers, basically anywhere that an electromagnetic pulse could fry sensitive electronics and have a devastating impact. I'm using the jet's current speed and heading to eliminate certain targets, but there's still dozens in range."_

"In other words, you don't know nothing. Why don't you just say that "I don't know nothing." Your guess is as good as anybody else's." Jack told her

 _"If you're trying to piss me off, Dalton, you're doing a bang-up job."_

"Thank you."

"All right, look, if we can identify these guys, it'll help us determine what their target is. Riley, any luck with the sellers' tech?" Mac asked her

 _"Nope, not yet. The sellers' phones are heavily encrypted. I'm gonna need some more time to I.D. the buyers."_

"Riley, Riley, time is not something we have in abundance, okay? A-And quit calling them "buyers." Making them sound all regal and cool. They're the "shoot everybody, steal the EMPers," that's more accurate." Jack told her

 _"Thanks, Jack. Very helpful."_

"You're welcome."

"You are on a roll today." I point out to him then the plane rumbled then Mac looked past me and out the front window

"Hey, uh, Matty, these guys have definitely changed their heading." He told her

"Yeah, I see it. We're recalculating projected flight path now." She says and we heard a ding

"What the hell is that?" Jack asked

"Probably the elderly couple whose plane we just commandeered?" I said

"Oh. Oh, oh, my gosh, I forgot all about them. I'll go back there and make sure they know we're not terrorists."

"Hold on, I'm not gonna let you do that by yourself." I told him and we walked through the door when the old man hit Jack with an ice bucket, "Ow! Oh. What are you doing? Give me that. I-I just came back here to tell you guys not to worry. We're the good guys."

"Good guys?" The man asked him and I saw him pick up a wine bottle

"Yeah."

"You're hijacking our plane!" The man yelled

"Hijack is a very strong word, sir."

"You forced your way onto our plane, you told our pilot where to fly, what do you call that?" The lady asked

"Yeah."

"That's the definition of hijacking." Mac pointed out

"Thank you very much, Merriam-Webster." Jack tells him, "Okay, okay. M-Maybe we did hijack the plane just a little bit, but it's a matter of national security."

"We work with the U.S. government." Mac says

"Hey, sonny, I wasn't born yesterday."

"No, sir, that-that's very apparent," Jack said and I smacked his arm, "but it doesn't change the fact that he's telling the truth. We-we work for Uncle Sam. We're ex-military and she-"

"Oh, no. He's lying, Saul. Hit him again." The lady tells her husband

"Now, now, now, you just wait a minute."

"You're not gonna do it, give me the bottle, I'll do it." She says grabbing the bottle

"Ah, now, now, wait a minute. Just stop it. If you three are really U.S. agents, where's your badges?" The man asked us

"Badges would be nice.." Jack says

"Yeah, we don't exactly work for an agency that goes around handing out I.D.s, but I promise you both, we're the good guys." I said to the man

"Huh? Well, why should I believe you?"

"Because me and him both have guns and didn't shoot you." I point out

"Now-now that's a fair point she's making there." He tells his wife

"Oh, Saul, are you out of your mind?" She asked him

"What?"

"You're always so trusting." She told him

"Stop attacking my character."

"Oh, what about that time you trusted your friend Gary to paint the house?" She asked

"Gary gave me a good deal on that paint..."

"Because it was lime green." She cut him off

"There's no such thing as a good deal on house paint." Jack tells him

"Oh, g-go away." The man said to him

"Yes, sir."

"Listen here, Edith, you stop pushing my buttons." The man continued

 _"Guys, Riley just broke the sellers' encryption."_ Bozer tells us

 _"Okay, I got a bunch of e-mails here between the sellers and a potential buyer setting date, time, place. This has got to be them."_

"Anything in there I.D. the buyer?" Mac asked her

 _"No, but it looks like the sellers were trying to do just that. They were tracing the buyers' IPs, trying to slip them spyware. They weren't able to figure out who you guys are chasing, but then again, they didn't have access to the Phoenix database."_

 _"Matty, you seeing this? One of the buyer's IP addresses matches a laptop Phoenix previously linked to someone named Javier Morales."_ Bozer told her

 _"Morales is a former major in the Unidad de Operaciones Especiales, Spain's version of the Navy SEALs."_

"Yeah, I called that. The way they took out the sellers had special ops written all over it, man." Jack pointed out

"Any idea why this Morales would want the EMP?" Mac asked Matty

 _"It's hard to say. Half his file has been redacted. The other half is a laundry list of medals and citations earned in hot spots on almost every continent."_

 _"But those files end two years ago when Morales left the military. What's he been doing since then?"_ Bozer asked

 _"Well, it looks like he went into business for himself. And he's been busy recruiting operators from elite units all over the world."_

"So you're saying Morales built himself a dream team of highly trained operatives?" I asked

"That's a commando Legion of Doom right there." Jack pointed out

 _"Okay, so now that we know who we're chasing, anyone want to guess where they're going and why?"_ Bozer asked

 _"Guys, Morales's jet just started gaining altitude. Can you confirm visually?"_ Matty asked us

"Yeah. Matty, these guys are climbing fast, but the real question is why." Mac said

"They're gonna jump." Saul told us and I looked at him

"What?"

"That's a spiral climb. We did dozens of them in Jump School." He tells us moving to look out the window

"You got your jump wings." Mac pointed out

"'69 Fort Benning, 75th Infantry, "C" Company. Fought about two tours in Vietnam."

"So you were Army Rangers?" I asked him

"Rangers always lead the way."

"Yes, sir my grandpa was one as well." I said and Mac put his hand on my back

"Really?" He asked and I nodded my head, "Which infatry?

"I think it was the 75th too."

"What's his name?" Saul asked me

"Kenneth Clarke."

"Kenny? I knew him we fought side by side together in Vietnam. How is he doing?" He asked and I put my head down

"He um...He..." I started to say but I looked at Saul and stopped

"I'm so sorry, he was a good man," He told me and I smiled, "Anyway, I'm taking Edith to all the places I wrote her letters from during the war." Saul said and I looked at his wife and smiled, "Those guys you're following, they won't be on that plane much longer."

"He's right, you know." I told Mac

"Yeah, Matty, these guys are circling which means they have a specific landing site in mind." He told her

 _"Well, you're over Shanghai now, so maybe their target's in the city."_ Matty tells us,  
 _"Mac, Jack, I've got a visual on six jumpers. Looks like they're headed for Dizang Tower. You don't just halo jump onto a 128th story building just to say you did it. Whatever Morales plans to do with that EMP, I think he's about to do it now. Riley, I need eyes inside that tower. Bozer, I need you to make me a list of everything in that building worth all this trouble."_

"We got to get to the ground now." Mac pointed out

"We got to get to the ground, like, right now. They already have a really big head start on us. Let's go, Captain. Get us down." Jack told the pilot

"Sorry to be the lone voice of reason here, fellas, but we are nowhere near a runway."

"Well, it sounds like you just became the master of improvisation. Get us down, Captain, right now. Now." Jack said

"You and Edith should get buckled up. We're gonna put this thing down and it's gonna get bumpy." I told Saul

"Gotcha."

* * *

We ran through the the street filled with cars and Mac went over to a man standing outside his car and spoke to him in Mandarin, "Wow, that was easy. What'd you tell him?" Jack asked Mac

"I told him that your wife's having a baby at the hospital."

"Oh. Thanks for the ride. Jack Jr., here we come." Jack says and we get into the car then drove off, "Hey, Riley, we're about five minutes out from, uh, Dinzang, uh - Dizang. We're about five minutes out from the tower. Did Morales and the Funky Bunch show up yet?" Jack asked her

 _"I just got into the tower security system. Looking now. Got them. They're in the northeast stairwell heading down. They just passed the 100th floor."_

"Bozer, how are we doing on that list of potential targets?" I asked him

 _"Uh good. A little too good, honestly. The whole building is filled with high profile targets. There's a Japanese embassy, a military tech company, six hedge funds, over a dozen banks. No way to know what Morales and his men are gonna hit."_

 _"This might narrow it down. They just exited the stairwell on the 90th floor."_ Riley told us as we get to the tower and walk through the doors

"Yeah, okay, and do we know what's on the 90th floor exactly?" Jack asked

 _"No clue. It isn't labeled on the building's public directory."_ Bozer says

 _"That's because the entire floor is a private residence. Belongs to a man named Ralph Jerico."_ Matty mentioned

"You mean Ralph Jerico the billionaire?" Mac asked

"Yeah, man. How many non-billionaires do you know that own their own floor of the building?" Jack asked him as we stood in the elevator

 _"The man's made his fortune in international finance. He has homes all over the world, but guess which home he's in this week?"_ Matty asked ststing the obvious

"The one on the 90th floor?" I asked with a smirk

 _"Bingo. He's in town for the Chinese Economic Summit."_

"Yeah, so, what's the deal, Matty? Are these cats working for Jerico now? Are they trying to help him steal the EMP? What?" Jack asked her

 _"As far as I can tell, Ralph Jerico appears to be an honest businessman."_

"Uh, guys, Morales and his men definitely don't work for Jerico. They just took out two of his guards." Riley tells us

 _"And now they're putting a shaped charge on his front door."_ Bozer added

"So what is this? Is this, is this a hit?" I asked

 _"Maybe not. Jerico's known for not trusting banks. He keeps the majority of his fortune in portable assets, preferably gold and diamonds."_ Matty said

 _"Looks like he just had a huge new safe installed with biometric and electronic locks."_ Riley adds

"The kind of lock you need electromagnetic pulse to beat." Mac pointed out

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait. So this is a heist?" Jack asked

 _"It looks that way. And I don't know about you, but I don't want to see what a man like Morales can do with millions in untraceable wealth."_ Matty mentioned

"Guys, they're putting all their electronics in a Faraday bag. They're gonna blow the EMP." Riley told us

"Hold on to something now." Mac says and I backed up to the elevator wall next to him and held on to the bar holding Mac's hand at the same time and he looked at me.

"Seriously?" Jack asked doing the same

"They're about to send this whole building to the Stone Age." Mac told him and the lights in the elevator went out.

* * *

Mac and Jack pushed the elevator doors open then Mac helped me out into the hallway as we see everyone running through the building, "Hey, oh, wait a minute. So you're telling me all my great airplane chase selfies are just gone?" Jack asked looking at his phone

"Yes. An EMP doesn't just turn off the power, Jack." I told him

"Oh, man."

"It burns the wires right off the silicon. So, anything within the blast radius that's electronic is dead forever." Mac adds

"It's not cool, dude."

"But, hey, we're doing silver lining today, right? For once it's not my fault you need a new phone." Mac told him and I chuckled

"Oh, it's your fault, Angus. It's always your fault."

"All right, so we're 40 floors below Jerico's penthouse." I pointed out looking at the number by the elevator as Mac walked over to the staircase doors

"Okay, so the elevator is dead. Morales and his slow bus armada are gonna have to take the stairwell. The problem is we have no earthly idea which stairwell they're gonna take, man."

"You know what, I don't think he's gonna take any of them, at least not yet." Mac says

"What makes you say that?" I asked him

"Well, think about it. Commandos coming down, fully tacked up, carrying bags of gold and diamonds. Not exactly low profile."

"They'll wait for the stairwell to clear. Then they'll make their move." Jack pointed out

"Exactly. Which will give us plenty of time to go up there and head them off."

"Yeah. Well, w-wait, hey, man. I ain't running up 40 floors." Jack said

"Yeah, you are, man. Fighting the sea of scared people the whole way up. You know what? Actually, it's gonna be easier if we can see. Let me make something real quick." Mac says walking away

"Come on Jack don't be a wimp." I told him with a smile and he laughed at me sarcastically

"Hey, you know what this is reminding me of? Hmm? Huh?" Jack asked him

"You know, I was thinking about it but I wasn't gonna say anything. A bunch of terrorists taking over a high-rise so they can pull off a bank robbery? It's..."

"No, no, no, wait, wait, wait. If anybody's gonna say it, it's gonna be me." Jack told him

"Knock yourself out."

"It's Die Hard, baby." Jack says and I rolled my eyes

"Oh, my God." I groaned

"Welcome to the party, pal." Jack said and I smiled shaking my head at both of them

"That's crazy."

"Well, hold on now. Hey. We're still on the mission you two. Act professional." I told them

"Right." Jack says nodding his head

"But let's make Bruce Willis proud." I said and they chuckled as Jack patted me on the back

"Let's do it." Mac says and light the paper towels on fire then we made our way up the stairs and Jack stopped for a moment and I laughed while following Mac

* * *

"Come out to the coast. We'll get together, have a few laughs." Mac quoted looking around the corner and I shook my head

"Nice." Jack tells him and moved forward with me following and Mac behind me then we continued forward and reached the penthouse. Jack looked over the railing as Mac went to snuff out his torch then followed me down the stairs after Jack

"Hey. There's nobody here, man. They must have already hit the safe and split." Jack pointed out

"Well, you were half right. The safe's still intact. They didn't even open it." Mac says

"What?" Jack asked

"Yeah."

"Well, if they didn't grab Jerico's diamonds, then what'd they take?" I asked then we hear a helicopter

"Whatever it was, they're about to fly away with it. Exfil wasn't on the ground, it was on the roof." Mac mentioned and we moved to the window

"The roof? No way we're making it to the roof before that chopper does." Jack pointed out and I sighed, "Step aside." Jack tells us and I saw him grab a chair then threw it at the window but it bounced right back, "That worked in Die Hard."

"Yeah, 'cause that was a movie. In real life, skyscraper windows are heavily reinforced." I mentioned to him

"Well, I can't tell Riley we lost that EMP again. I'm a father figure." Jack said and started shooting at the window, Mac pulled my arm moving me back then I see the helicopter got hit by one of Jack's bullets

"Well, they're gonna be coming down the staircase now." Mac pointed out and we headed to the staircase.

* * *

"I think we just figured out what stairwell they're in." Jack pointed out as we stood at the bottom and heard the men talking from above us

"Yep."

"Now we need to quickly, quickly come up with a way to stop a commando death squad. Come on, Jack! What would John McClane do?" Jack asked himself

"Hey, how about you two lure them down there, I figure out what they took, and steal it back?" Mac asked

"I love that." Jack says

"Yeah sure why not?" I add

"Hey, Morales! What's the problem? Did I ruin your little roof party? I tell you what, come on down to 87 and we'll hug it out." Jack yells up to them

"Very McClane." Mac told him

"Just a fly in the ointment, Hans. Just a monkey in the wrench." Jack says as he began to walk down the stairs

"Hey, hey, hey."

"Just a pain in the ass." Jack continued

"We don't have time for the whole thing." Mac told him

"Yeah, sorry." Jack said and I looked at Mac then followed Jack

* * *

"Riley, Bozer? Bozer, you there? Hey, you copy?" Jack asked into the radio

 _"Hell yeah we do, Jack. Where are you guys?"_

"Uh, Val and I are on the 87th floor. I-I think we're playing cat and mouse with these hombres. I just wet-noodled one and took his walkie. But, uh, we have no earthly idea where Mac is. We, uh we had to split up." Jack told him

 _"Did you get the EMP back?"_ Riley asked him

"Well, no, not yet."

 _"What about Jerico's diamonds?"_ Bozer asked

"I don't think this is about diamonds. Jerico's safe was locked up tight. Morales must be trying to steal something else. We've just been a little busy to figure that out." I answered

 _"Actually, I think I may have the answer. Ralph Jerico just might be the most heavily insured person on the planet. Home, fire, earthquake. Even a kidnap and ransom policy he took out on his only child, Ethan. As a condition of this sizeable K &R policy, Jerico had to agree to chip his son with a GPS locator." _Matty informed us

 _"So Morales uses the EMP to knock out the chip so the kid can't be tracked."_ Bozer pointed out

 _"This is bad. Because if they get Ethan out of the building..."_

"We may never see that kid again." I said cutting Riley off and I felt a pain in my heart as me and Jack continued making our way through the floor.

* * *

"So, Morales is doing all this to bust his little baby brother out of prison?" Jack asked as we rounded a corner

 _"Not just any baby brother. We're talking about Rodrigo Morales. The man is an enemy combatant wanted by 16 different governments. He and Javier used to run their little commando unit together until Rodrigo got busted trying to topple the Nigerian government."_ Matty informed us

 _"These do not look like nice people. How does Jerico fit into all this?"_ Bozer asked her

 _"Rodrigo is currently locked up in a Nigerian super-max prison. Nigeria is also a country where Ralph Jerico has significant business holdings and political clout. Morales contacted Jerico asking him for help, and Jerico refused. I guess Morales is done asking nicely."_

 _"So one phone call from him could end this whole thing?"_ Bozer asked

"Yeah, which means releasing Rodrigo back into the wild, which ain't exactly a good thing he's a rowdy one. Matty, did you at least call Jerico, tell him not to make any phone calls till we confirm they've got his son?" Jack asked her, "There's no sense in giving Morales what he wants if he doesn't even have the kid."

 _"I convinced Jerico to give us a half an hour, but unless he has proof that his son is safe in 29 minutes, 18 seconds and counting, he will make that phone call. So, I need to know where Mac and Ethan are right now."_

"I know that, Matty. I'm not stupid. But me and Val don't know how to find him if we don't know where to look."

"Hey, Matty, remember that miracle you asked for? Check this out." Riley told her

 _"Did you just X-ray the entire Dizang Tower?"_

 _"Sort of. Since every cam in the building's fried, I used Wi-Fi signals from nearby buildings to build a radar image of what's going on in there."_ Riley says

"You mean like the thing Morgan Freeman did in The Dark Knight?" I asked her

 _"Yeah. Before you ask, that was real."_

"Yeah, whatever. Batgirl, use the Bat-thingy and tell me what floor he's on, pronto." Jack told her

 _"Unfortunately, this technique doesn't give us enough resolution to make out faces. But those guys definitely have machine guns. And that guy's holding the EMP. So, if I had to guess, those two blots heading straight down an elevator shaft are Mac and Ethan."_

 _"Looks like they're headed for the lobby."_ Bozer adds then me and Jack turned back around and ran off

* * *

Me and Jack turn the corner just in time to see one of Morales's men pointing a gun at Mac then Jack hit him with his gun knocking him down then I grabbed the guys weapon, "Yippee-ki-yay..."

"Shh! Got a kid present." Mac said cutting Jack off

"Sorry."

"Who the hell is this old fart?" Ethan asked

"Old fart? Watch my language?" Jack asked looking at Mac

"You're the adult."

"Yeah, well, watch your mouth, Curlicue." Jack warned the kid and I rolled my eyes

"I take that back." MAc pointed out and I smiled at him

"Bozer, we found Mac and the kid. We're in the lobby, headed out front. Pick us up." Jack said into the radio and we moved

 _"Guys, looks like Shanghai SWAT just got here."_ Riley told us

"Yeah, well, in that case, Matty, tell Jerico his kid's safe. With four minutes to spare." Jack says and we look to see the SWAT men shooting at security guards so I pulled the kid behind me

"What the hell? What the hell is going on?" Ethan asked

"That's not Shanghai SWAT." Mac pointed out and we ran back the way we came

"Hey, change of plans, Matty. Morales's boys just took the lobby. And we just lost our only way out." Jack told her

* * *

"Mac, they are securing every door and stairwell, cutting off all exits. Once that is done, they are gonna go room to room until they find you." Matty informed us

"Then I guess this is where we make our stand."

"Well, that's fine with me. I don't mind making a stand. But let-let's come up with a plan so it's not our last stand." Jack tells him

"Yeah. On it. Um..look, we're gonna get you out of here, okay? You're gonna be with your dad soon." Mac says to Ethan

"Not that he'd even notice. He's too busy flying all over the world, building his empire."

"Yeah, well, just 'cause your dad's busy doesn't mean he doesn't care about you." Mac mentioned

"He had me chipped by the same people that put locators on his cars. I'm just another possession to him."

"When I was your age, my dad walked out on me and he never came back. And I was angry, just like you are." Mac says and I looked at him

"So, what? Now you're gonna tell me that my dad really loves me and it's all gonna get better someday?"

"No, I'm not gonna tell you that. I'm just gonna say that I know how you feel. It sucks and I'm sorry." Mac said

"Yeah, I mean at least you have a dad who cares." I add and Mac put his hand on my shoulder

"Guys. No one likes an ill-timed heart-to-heart more than me, but we have some very aggressive company coming this way, and I got one clip left for this bad boy plus whatever Val has and it won't be enough so unless they attack all lined up in a row for me just to take 'em out at once, this ammunition limitation's gonna be a problem. Capisce?" Jack asked

"That's it." Mac mentioned hitting Jack's arm, "That's it. We're gonna take 'em all out at once. It's brilliant."

"Huh? What? You want to fill us in here?" I asked him

"All right, so This is a light ballast. I need as many of these as we can find." Mac told us tearing one out of the ceiling, "Okay, okay. Here. You take that." He says handing it to Jack

"You want me to do this?"

"Yes. Take it. In the lights. Go. Val I need you to help me with this." He told me and I followed him

* * *

"Yeah, uh, obviously, I understand what you're building, as usual, but...but what about Small Fry here? You know? It's a teachable moment, here." Jack says standing next to Ethan

"I know what a Faraday cage is, dumb-ass."

"Hey, watch your mouth, kid." I warned him

"Starting to like this kid. And, uh, yes, Ethan, it is a Faraday cage. Which will shield whatever's inside of it from the electrical energy outside of it." Mac pointed out

"Obviously. But I-I don't understand how a far away cage i-is gonna stop a group of highly-trained killers from bearing down upon us with with automatic weapons and ill intent." Jack says as I helped Mac

"You let him carry a gun?" Ethan asked

"Watch your mouth." Jack said

"It's a Faraday cage, Jack, and it's not. It's just gonna keep us from getting electrocuted." Mac told him

"Electrocuted?"

"Yes.

"But I-I thought you said the EMP knocked all of the electricity out of the building." I point out

"No. It fried all the electronics in the building. The city's electrical grid is still going strong. And since we are on the first floor, which means we still have power." Mac answered opening an electric panel

"Let's kill those bastards." Ethan says

"Easy there, Chucky." Mac tells him

"No, no, I'm with him." Jack said agreeing with Ethan

"Relax. We're just gonna knock 'em out long enough for the cavalry to come."

* * *

"Dad? Dad, I-I don't know if you can hear this, but I got separated from the guys who were trying to save me. I'm hiding. In an accounting office on the first floor. Are you there? Dad? Dad? Are you there?" Ethan asked into the radio to lure the men to us, "What happens if your Faraday cage doesn't work?" He asked Mac

"As a friend once said, then the rest of the day is gonna suck."

"Indeed." Jack agreed and the men walked over to us

"There they are. Don't move."

"Now!" Ethan screamed

"Now." Mac said and flipped the switch and all the men got electrocuted

"Now that was cool!" Ethan say

"Hell yeah it was!" Jack agreed

"Language." I told him

"Hey, have you heard him talk? He's a little wolf cub."

"Damn right I am." Ethan says

"See?"

* * *

"Dad! Daddy!" Ethan yelled running to his dad

"Ethan! Oh, gosh! You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah? Oh, I thought I lost you." His dad says

"You probably would have if it wasn't for this guy. That's MacGyver. He's really weird, but he's also kind of cool."

"MacGyver. Thank you so much for saving my son." Jerico tells him

"Of course."

"If there's anything I can do to repay you..." Jerico says

"Uh, no. You don't owe me anything. Actually, you know what? There is one thing. Spend more time with your son. Make him a priority. He's a good kid. He's got a mouth on him, but he's a good kid. But for him to grow into the man that you want him to be, you gotta be around. So try not to lose him again. You may never get him back. Trust me." Mac told him and I wrapped my arm around his waist and he did the same to me

"Thank you."

"See you around, Curlicue." Jack says to him

"See you around, old fart." Ethan replied then me and Mac laughed

"What? It's not that..."

"I got the EMP back!" Riley exclaimed coming out of the building

"Nice!" I told her

"Mac fried it to smithereens, but I did get it back."

"Bravo." Jack cheered, "Bravo. Yeah, a-and happy trails, Morales." Jack told him as SWAT escorted him and his men to the van and Jack looked at us, "I can't believe none of you guys got that reference."

"What reference?" Bozer asked him

"Die Hard? Happy trails, Hans."

"Yeah, never seen it, Jack." Bozer says

"Wait a minute. You've never seen Die Hard?"

"Of course I've seen Die Hard, Jack." Bozer told him and I chuckled, "Just wanted to see if I could make your head explode. Almost did."

"It was pretty close. After today I have a whole new respect for John McClane I'll tell you that much."

* * *

I pulled up to the house and sat there for a good 5 minutes before I finally worked up the courage to get out and walk up the steps then stopped at the door then sighed before I knocked, after a minute or so it finally opened, "Who are you?" The old lady asked me

"My name is Valarie Clarke. I'm your granddaughter."


	22. Chapter 22

**You can run, but you can't hide**

"Hurry up, Mac." I told him as he tried to open the door to a diner

"Does it look like I'm taking my time?"

"Well, I'm just saying, your burglary skills suck." I point out

"Maybe if you step out of my light."

"Oh, yeah, sorry." I said and moved a little

"Ah, thank you." He tells me then opened the door, "See?"

"You can pat yourself on the back later." I tell him heading inside, "Hey, I'm gonna send Matty our coordinates so she can redirect that exfil chopper to us."

"ETA?"

"30 minutes. So I'm also gonna upload that data that we just stole to the Phoenix just in case.." I started to say

"We, uh, never set foot on that chopper?" Mac asked finishing for me

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"You know, right about now, Jack would be going on and on about how this is all my fault we're in this mess."

"Personally, I'm more interested in finding a way out of this mess, since it won't take the guys we stole this from 30 minutes to catch up to us." I mentioned as I pulled out my phone and started working

"Way less than 30 minutes." Mac says and I see head lights pull up

"Mac? I hate to sound like you-know-who, but now would be a really great time to do something awesome."

"I need you to start complaining." He told me and I looked at him confused

"What?"

"Yeah. Or-or tell me a long-winded story that doesn't seem to go anywhere."

"You want me to pretend to be Jack?" I asked him

"Sadly, it helps me think."

"Uh, all right. Hey, hey, Mac, I-I love that big brain of yours, I do, but uh, if you'd have just let me shoot them 17 doofuses outside with the two bullets I had left, we'd be kicking back on the Phoenix jet right now, sipping martinis, instead of instead of sitting here, waiting to get our heads blown off." I tell him using my best Jack impression

"Got it. Val?"

"Yeah."

"I need you to turn on the gas stoves, but don't light the burners." He told me

"So your brilliant plan is to kill us slowly with gas?" I asked him moving over to the stoves

"Oh, nothing about it's gonna be slow. I didn't say it was brilliant. Turn on those burners, fast. They're gonna be coming in here any second."

"Oh, that's nasty." I point out after touching one of the stove knobs then moved down behind the counter, "Mac. Mac, I really hope you're almost done." I whispered to him

"Coming."

"Must go faster." I said

"Freezer, freezer." He says running over to me

"Let's go, right now." I say and we ran into the kitchen getting into the freezer and I turned on the light, "You know, if we make it out of here, I'm gonna recommend you talk to someone about your codependency issues." I point out and he chuckled then looked at me

"To be honest, it's a pretty big if." He told me and we hear gunshots, "Okay, you ready?" He asked me as I knelt down next to him and he held up his phone

"Yeah, yeah." I said and he waited a bit then hit the call button and a small explosion went off, he covered my head as it shook the freezer then we stood up, "All right, we better split before the fire department shows, or we're gonna be answering a lot of questions." I mentioned

"Yep," He says and tried the freezer door but it doesn't open, "Oh, come on." He groaned then leaned against it, "We really need a vacation."

"Well we never did get a honeymoon." I chuckled and he grabbed my hand

"We will."

* * *

"You know, Mac, when you invited me on an island vacation, I-I pictured pristine beaches, you know? Maybe some tropical drinks with them little umbrellas in them, I love those." Jack tells him as we all continued to work

"I know. And, look, I really do appreciate you using your vacation days to help me rebuild my old Army buddy's house. I really owe you all a big thanks."

"Happy to help, Mac. Never been a fan of those little umbrellas, anyways." Bozer says and I chuckled handing Mac a bottle of water and he smiled then kissed me

"Well, Puerto Rico needed us way more than we needed the R&R. Even after the diner incident." I point out and Mac jokingly glared at me

"What, you two survive one near-death experience, and it's the new Cairo or something. Is that it?" Jack asked

"Hey, I thought we didn't talk about Cairo." Bozer points out

"We don't."

"It's all right. You were there with us in spirit, Jack." I told him

"Oh."

"Hey, guys, seriously, I really appreciate you all pitching in, 'cause without your help, it would've been a year before Carlos and his family had a roof over their heads, so thank you."

"Anytime." I tell him and he smiled then wrapped his arm around my waist

"Speaking of, who's ready to raise the roof?" Bozer asked and I rolled my eyes

"Come on, now. I knew it was coming. I knew it." I said

"Tell me now, you know you liked it."

"All right, guys, pull at the same time when I say it. We're gonna do it a couple times till we get it all the way up." Mac tells us climbing up the side of the soon to be house and I held onto my end of the rope

"H-Hey, Mac, I know this might not be the best time for constructive criticism..." Jack started to say

"Not really."

"But why are we using these rickety-ass ladders when there's perfectly good telephone poles right there?" Jack asked

"Two words: Hurricane Maria. Heavy rain, it loosens topsoil, which means that nothing out here is as sturdy as it looks." Mac pointed out, "All right, on three, pull. One, two, pull!" Mac says and I pulled on my end, "Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull. All right, now give it a little bit of slack there. Almost. There we go." He says and the roof piece sat where it needed to, "Good job, guys."

"Nice. Thanks, Bozer, good job." Jack says

"All right, yeah, go ahead and tie it off." Mac said and we heard a horn honk then we see Mac's friend pull up as I tied my rope to a 2 by 4.

"He's gonna be stoked." Jack mentioned

"My house has a roof, Mac!"

"It's got a frame, we still need plywood, tar paper, shingles." Mac tells him

"Oh, man. It's way more than I've had in months, okay, so I'm happy."

"I get you."

"Oh, I-I'm sorry I-I wasn't here to help, but this damn truck died on me twice on my way from the lumber yard. It started making that g-g-glug sound, and I couldn't do anything." Carlos says and I walked over to the hood

"Let's take a look." I told him and he opened it up and I opened the fuse box, "Check this first...yeah. That's what it is. You got some water in your fuse box a while back." I tell him and walked over to the house grabbing a couple nails.

"Oh, water. I have no idea how that happened." Carlos says and I smiled as I walked back over

"Good news is, it's an easy fix. Believe it or not, this should hold you, at least until you get the new parts for your truck." I tell him after I put them in the fuse box

"You're wearing off on her Mac. Definitely a keeper." Carlos told me and I chuckled as Mac put his arm around my waist.

"Yeah I'm quite fond of her." Mac says and I smacked his chest

"Papa." I hear a little girl say and I looked to see Carlos's daughter come over to us holding a box

"Oh, mija! Come over here." Carlos told and picked her up, "Mira. Mira nuestra nueva casa." He says as they look at the house and kissed her on the cheek then put her down

"Me encanta. You hungry, Papa?" Mira asked him

"Yeah."

"I brought everyone lunch." She tells him and I smiled

"Lunch? Wow. Look at that." Carlos says and handed Mac a bag

"Look at you ah, yes, thank you."

Mira walked over to Bozer and he grabbed a bag then she walked over to me and I grabbed one

"Thank you."

"Val, I asked my mom to do my hair like yours today." Adrianna told me and I smiled

"It's so pretty. Let me see." I told her and she turned her head to the side and I saw her hair go down in a fish tail braid, "I love it." I said and she smiled then walked over to Jack and I see Mac smile at me as I be

"Hey Carlos." Jack says to him

"Hey Jack."

"What do you say we get this lumber unloaded, see what else we can get done - before the sun goes down, yeah?" Jack asked him

"Yeah, let's do it. Oh, and you guys, work up on those appetites, 'cause tonight, you're all gonna go back to my place and have a big thank-you dinner. My mother-in-law makes the best pasteles you're ever gonna taste."

"Ooh, you had me at "dinner," man." Jack tells him and we get back to work

* * *

"Okay, mija, let's go." Carlos says taking her out of his truck and we walked over to their tent, I looked around at everyone and smiled.

"Val said she likes my hair." Adrianna told her mom as I stood behind with my hands on her shoulder and smiled

"I told you it looked beautiful."

"Kamila." Mac says to her

"Hey. I hear you got the roof on today."

"We did, yeah."

"Carlos always told me, MacGyver can fix anything." She tells him and I chuckled

"Well, now, he did have a little bit of help." Jack pointed out, "But I was promised some pasteles? Is that right?" He asked and the older lady told him something in Spanish, "Uh-oh. What'd she say?"

"Um, she said, Dinner is served." Carlos told him and I snickered

"No, she didn't, Carlos. You're a terrible liar, but I'll let it slide. You know why, Mom? 'Cause you're a cutie pie." Jack told her and she giggled, "Come on, get over here, I'll escort you to dinner."

"Ah. Gracias."

"My pleasure. Let's go." Jack says and we walked into the tent

* * *

"So, Jack, what do you think of my mama's pasteles?" Carlos asked him

"Oh, Valeria, these are the best things I've ever put in my mouth." He tells her and she said something in Spanish, "What? What'd she say?"

"She says thank you." Kamila told him with a smile then said something to her mom

"Hey, Carlos. I don't remember you being this handy in Afghanistan." Mac tells him looking at something in the tent

"Well, Mac, it's amazing what one can do when given no other choice."

"Or when your wife sets up the kitchen." Kamila says and I chuckled

"There it is." Mac said sitting back down next to me and put his arm around my shoulder as I smiled at him.

"Okay, okay, so the kitchen was all Kamila. But I think I've helped a little bit making this place a home. Didn't I? Those wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me." Carlos says indicating to the candles

"Yeah, I was thinking those did not come with the tent." Bozer pointed out

"No, sure didn't. Those belonged to Kamila's abuela. After the storm, I went back to what was left of our house, and, you know, trying to salvage anything."

"And you found the candlesticks, and now, we're all safe, and healthy, and that's all that matters." Kamila adds and I smiled as Carlos grabbed her hand

"Of course. So I want to thank my old friend MacGyver, and my new friends: Jack, Bozer and Val, for taking a break from their lives and coming out here, help us rebuild ours. You know, all the way out here, on this small island in the middle of the ocean, it's easy to feel like the rest of the nation has forgotten what happened to us. So it means the world, to me and my family, that you did not. That you came out here to help us. So as soon as we have a real house again, I can go back to work at the bank, and help the rest of the island get back on its feet. A toast. Here's to friends, old and new, this thank-you, it's not just from me and my family, but all Puerto Rico." Carlos says and we raised our cups

"To a brighter tomorrow." Mac says

"Salud." We all cheered hitting our cups together then I took a sip and looked at Mac who kissed me.

* * *

"Do you think about having kids?" Mac asked me as we laid in the cot together in our tent we shared with Jack and Bozer who were asleep.

"Mr. Random." I told him and he chuckled, "I mean, maybe someday when...when I know we would be safe." I said referring to Murdoc, "I would love to have a kid with you, or kids." I chuckled and he looked at me.

"Safe?" He asked

"He's still out there Mac, and I don't want to have the fear that he is gonna sneak in to our child's room while we're sleeping. That scares me more then going to these countries for days on end and coming close to death."

"Hey," He says and I looked up at him, "You know that I would keep you safe no matter what, same with our child. We will find Murdoc and we will get Cassian back but I think having a little girl like you would be amazing." He told me and I smiled even though the guilt was eating at me, he still doesn't know that I'm trying to find them, or that I've been visiting my grandmother.

"Oh please, you would find some scientific way to make it so we had a boy, a little genius like you." I said with a smirk and he kissed me then deepened it, "Mmm Mac, as much as I would like to continue this we have two people in here with us." I tell him and he looked over at Jack and Bozer

"Eh, their both heavy sleepers." He says and kissed me again and I giggled then he moved to hover above me.

"You are terrible." I told him and he kissed me again before putting his hand under my shirt.

* * *

"Hey, guys, only four more hours till Matty wants us back on that plane to L.A." I mentioned to them as we worked and I looked at my phone

"Man, my lower back's gonna hate me for saying this, but I wish we could stay and keep working." Bozer says

"Yeah, you know, it would've been nice to see this bad boy finished before we left, Mac." Jack adds and I saw Carlos's daughter walk up to us

"Hey, Adriana, is it lunch already?" I asked her

"Where's my dad?"

"He's not at your place? We kind of figured after last night's party, he just let himself sleep in." Mac told her

"No. Papa was up at sunrise. He should be here by now.

"I'm sure he's fine, sweetie." I told her putting my hand on her shoulder, "I bet my build on his truck probably didn't hold up, so he's stuck on the side of the road."

"We're gonna go find him now, aren't we?" Mac asked Jack

"Yeah. Yeah, we'll find him, sweetie. Don't worry." Jack says and they left.

* * *

"Can you believe this? It's been seven months since Maria hit and the whole island's still struggling." I point out to Bozer as we sat in the police station

"Yeah. Friends of mine went through the same thing after Katrina. Crazy how a bunch of wind and water can bring down everything we rely on."

"Excuse me." I said to an officer who walked past me as I stood up, "Look, I know you're really busy. We just wanted to file a missing persons report."

"We can take your statement, but you're gonna have to wait like everyone else. We're stretched even thinner than usual today."

"Why? What's going on?" Bozer asked him

"Half the force is out on a special protection detail."

"Protecting what?" I asked

* * *

"So get this, half of the San Juan PD is tied up today protecting a shipment of federal aid money sent to help restart Puerto Rico's economy." Bozer tells Mac and Jack as we walked out of the station

 _"How much federal aid money?"_ Mac asked

"$2 million in cash. It's being trucked from the port to a bank downtown. Want to guess which bank?" I asked them

 _"I'll assume it's the bank Carlos manages."_ Jack says

"Got it on the first try, Jack." I told him

 _"Wait, this isn't about anything that Carlos did after the storm, this is about who he was before."_ Mac pointed out

 _"It'd be pretty easy to go into that bank, stick a gun in the manager's back, and withdraw $2 million."_ Jack adds

"Yeah. Hey, what time was the money scheduled to be at the bank?" Mac asked

"1:30." Bozer told him

"That was ten minutes ago."

"All right, Val, Bozer, stay put, we're coming to pick you up." Jack told us

* * *

 _"All right, I'm in the bank's security system. Pulling up surveillance cameras now."_ Riley told us over the phone and I pulled up the footage on mine showing the others

"There, that's Carlos walking into the bank right now. Looks like he's made himself a new friend." Mac pointed out

"And those new friends look like they're carrying concealed weapons." I add

"Wait, what's Carlos doing?" Bozer asked and the camera changed and we see Carlos walk over to a desk with a lady at it

"He's triggering a silent alarm, which is bad 'cause that guy right there is holding a police scanner." I told them and we see Carlos start to fight the guy holding the gun to him and he gets shot

"They shot him in the leg. Floor it. This robbery just turned into a hostage situation." Mac says and Jack sped up

* * *

Jack pulled up to the bank and Mac jumped out, "Hey, hey, hey!" Jack yelled at him

"Coordinate with the cops when they get here."

"Where the hell you going?"I asked him

"To become a hostage."

* * *

"Captain, Jack Dalton, former Delta. There's quite a situation we have ourselves here, but don't worry, I saw the whole thing go down. You got five armed men inside, at least 17 civilians. Now the good news is, they weren't expecting a hostage situation, so they are ill-prepared. The even better news is, I got a man on the inside." Jack told the officer

"Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to please step back."

"Yeah, wait, I don't, I don't think you understand. I'm here to help. I am fully trained in hostage tactics from a little place called Quantico." Jack says stopping him before he could walk away

"Sir, we're handling the situation. I'm gonna have to ask you to please step back." The officer said then told the other two to escort us behind the tape.

"Webber, Dalton here. Listen, I think we're gonna need a little hand with the local authorities down here, they're being, uh well, less than cooperative." Jack says into his phone

"So what are we gonna do, just stand here and watch?" I asked him

"Not if Matty has anything to say about it. Watch this." He tells me and I see the officer answer his phone then held it away from his ear and I smiled

"Oh, yeah, that's definitely a call from Matty. Damn, she works fast." I pointed out

"Indeed she does." Jack said and the officer gestured for us to walk over

"Looks like we're gonna be working together."

"Thank you, Captain." I tell him

* * *

 _"Jack, can you hear me? Jack."_ I hear over an officers radio and Jack grabbed it

"You'll get it back. Calm down." Jack told him, "Hey, Mac. It's good to finally hear your voice, man. Took you long enough. How's it going in there?" Jack asked him

"Carlos is fine. He's alive and stable for now. No other hostages have been harmed. Um, but the robbers are downstairs stealing money from the vault right now."

"Okay, okay, that's good, but what's the plan, homie? I got a dozen SWAT guys out here ready to rock and roll. We'll come in that front door and join the party. You just say the word." Jack says

"At this point, that would just get people killed. I'm gonna start releasing hostages."

"That sounds great, Mac. How?" Bozer asked taking the walkie

"Uh, well, I don't know yet. Just have someone waiting by the drive-thru lane for hostages."

"Copy that." Boxer told him then er took off."

* * *

"Is anyone else coming?" I asked a lady who climbed down a makeshift ladder made out of cords following a few others.

"I-I don't know. We didn't stop to look back." She tells me and I looked back up

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"Move! Over here." The gunman told me and one of the employees and I helped her up then walked over to the others then he counted us, "I leave you alone for five minutes, and you lose three hostages? How?" he asked the guy who had dye on his face

"I don't know, man. Okay? I just went over to the door to check it out, because I heard something over there, and then this happened to me. It was one of them! It was one of them."

"I want all bank employees, except for my friend, the manager, over here, now." The main guy ordered and everybody but me, Carlos and some others moved, "Somebody's trying to be a hero here. And since only bank employees would know where you keep the dye packs, you four are my prime suspects." He says and walked over to a lady, "Was it you? Look at me, "Was it you?" He asked another one, "Hmm. What about you? Hmm? Look at me." He told the last lady, "You look like a troublemaker. I think it was you." He said and cocked the gun

"Then you'd be wrong. 'Cause it was me. I'm the one you want." I told him standing up.

* * *

"So you free my hostages, and you've been talking to the cops." The guy said after he punched me then kicked me in the gut, "I should just kill you right now. Show the others what happens when you try to be a hero." He adds then pointed the gun at me.

"We got a problem, man. They called in the SWAT team. Losing those hostages makes it look like we're losing control. And we're not losing control! We got to get out of here, now." I heard one of his guys tell him

"How are we gonna do that?"

"You tell us. Okay? This was your idea." the other guy says

"I say, we get those hostages, we use them as shields, and we shoot our way out of here." The guy with the dye said

"And what about the rest of them? They all seen our faces, they all got to go." Another pointed out

"Hey, I know nobody asked me, but if your plans don't get you all killed, it'll damn sure get you all caught, and every dead hostage tacks on another life sentence." I told them sitting up and the main guy pointed his gun at me as they walked over, "Look, I can get you out with the money, without anyone firing another shot, but you got to promise me that no one else gets hurt."

"Why the hell should we trust you?" He asked me

"Because I just made a radio out of a pair of headphones and snuck three hostages out of the bank without you noticing. Using Ethernet cable and a coffee mug."

"Okay, how?" He asked

"First, I need you to buy me some time."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Come on, Mac, just make those little hamsters in your brain spin the wheels a little bit faster and figure this out, will you? 'You do know that's not how brains work, right, Jack?' Yeah, yeah, thanks for the Neurology 101 lesson, Professor. Just figure it out, will you?" Me and Bozer hear Jack say as we walked over to him

"They got Mac. Why aren't we going in?" Bozer asked him

"For that very reason. If they figure out who he is, they're just gonna use him as leverage think about it."

"So we just stand down?" I asked

"For now."

"You all right?" I asked Jack

"Yeah. Yeah, why?"

"Well, you were just talking to yourself as we walked around the corner just now I thought I'd ask." I point out

"No, no. I wasn't talking to myself, okay? I was role-playing. I was role-playing a conversation that I'd probably be having with him if I was inside that bank. Now, you know he's cooking something up I'm just...You know, figure a way to help."

"Yeah. Okay, just making sure." I tell him as he walked away

"Those two really don't do well when they're separated, huh?" Bozer asked me

"Oh, you have no idea."

"Sir. It's them. They say they're ready to make demands." Another officer said handing the main one a phone

"It's about damn time. This is Captain Delarosa of the San Juan PD. To whom am I speaking?" He asked

 _"My name doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm willing to make a trade. In exchange for not hurting any hostages, I want a helicopter and guaranteed safe passage off the island."_

"Safe passage to where?" He asked the guy

 _"I'll tell the pilot our destination once we're on board. Those are my terms. They are not negotiable."_

"Understood. I'll make some calls. But look, this whole thing goes a lot smoother if we establish trust. How about a sign of good faith? Send out a few hostages." Delarosa told him

 _"How about you keep the three you got and get me a helicopter. 30 minutes or someone dies."_

"Get me the superintendent on the line, and find me an emergency service that can spare a chopper." Delarosa told the officer

"Yes, sir."

"So now they suddenly want a chopper. Why didn't they ask for that hours ago?" I asked

"Yeah. And we've all seen this movie. They got to know that nobody ever actually gets the chopper." Bozer pointed out

"What the hell is going on in there?" Jack asked

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

I started to grab the items I needed then poured peroxide into a coffee pot then put the cartridges from the counterfeit pens into it, "How the hell is all that gonna help us get out of the bank?" The main guy asked me

"Counterfeit detection pens are full of iodine, which will react with, um..." I started to explain then stopped, "You know what? I can give you a chemistry lesson, or I can get you out of here. We don't have time for both." I told him

"Fine. Do your thing." He said and I hesitated, "We got a problem here?"

"Not if you give me your word that you'll leave all the hostages behind. If that doesn't work for you, you can just shoot me now."

"You have my word." He says and I continued

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"If the Coast Guard can't spare one, call the hospitals. Someone has to have a helicopter." Delarosa tells the officer

"Yes, sir."

"We need to go full breach, Captain, right now." Jack told him as I got a vest on.

"We're in the middle of negotiating."

"No, you're not. They just asked you for a chopper they know you can't get. I'm telling you, these guys picked this bank on this island because they are fully aware of what's going on in Puerto Rico right now." Jack pointed out

"So you think they're stalling?"

"Call them back. Tell them you have a chopper that-that's fueled up and ready to take off right now. See how they respond. If they're serious, they'll take it. If not, you know they're holding out for something else." I explained standing next to Jack

"Hand me the phone." Delarosa says to another officer, "No one's picking up. You were right. Full breach." He tells us and me and Jack into positions with the SWAT guys

"Battering ram, in position." A member told us and Jack nodded to him then he smashed open the door

"Throw smoke." Jack ordered, "Go, go, go!" Jack says and we move in and I see Carlos on the ground with the other hostages

"Jack! Val!"

"Carlos!" I said and moved over to him, "Where's Mac?" I asked him

"Took him downstairs." He says and we move with SWAT heading downstairs only to see a burned hole in the ground

"Carlos and the hostages are secure, but the robbers are gone, with the money, and MacGyver." Jack said into his radio and I sighed

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"So, for the record, this wasn't part of the deal. I said I'd get you out with the money if you left all the hostages behind. "All" included me." I told the guy as I drove the stolen SUV through the streets

"Well, guess you should've been more specific." One of the guys said

"Honestly, after giving us a taste of what you're capable of, you really think we'd just let you go? Who knows how else you might come in handy?" The main guy told me and I looked forward.

* * *

 **Val POV...**

 _"Jack, what are the chances you're calling to tell me you just saved Mac's friend, everything's fine, and the four of you are on your way to the airport as promised?"_ Matty asked over the phone

"Well, we rescued Carlos, but the other things on your wish list hit a bit of a snag." He told her as he drove the truck

"Define snag."

"Well, the robbers escaped into the sewers under the bank with all the money and Mac." I mentioned

"So we're tearing through San Juan looking for them now." Bozer added

 _"Is it weird that none of this even remotely surprises me?"_ Matty asked, _"Okay, hang on. I'm gonna help you find our boy. Your robbers are gonna be desperate for a way off the island. And if they're not complete morons, then they'll know that a plane is hard to get and easy to track. So my guess is they're gonna be looking for a boat. I'm sending you coordinates to the closest marina to the bank."_ She tells us and my phone chimed

"Got it. We're about eight minutes out. Jack, take the next left." I said to him

"H-Hold on. Matty, that's not the only marina on the island." Jack mentioned

 _"No. But it's the closest, which makes it their most likely destination and our best shot."_

"And I'm not disagreeing with you. But if you're wrong..." He tells her

 _"I know, Jack."_

"All right, hold on." Jack said and he took the turn.

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"We've got a problem." I told them as I slowed down seeing a tree in the road

"Move that tree. Move that tree. Let's go. Let's go, let's go." The guy said to them as they got out, "Move! Come on, guys."

"It's too heavy." One of them said

"Okay, what now?" Another asked

"See, I knew you'd come in handy. Find a way to clear the road, or this is where you die." The guy told me cocking his gun and I got out looking around and looked at a telephone pole then picked up a road sign that fell over then moved to walk past them but the main pointed his gun at me

"Just gonna use this as a lever, if you don't mind."

"Just hurry it up, genius. Come on." He told me and I moved to the pole then looked at the hole next to it and saw my chance, I stuck it into the ground then kicked it causing the pole to fall down and I started to run

"Look out! Whoa!"

"Light him up!" The main guy yelled and I heard a gunshot and stopped to check myself then saw Jack driving Carlos's truck as Val leaned out the window with her gun aimed up and they stopped with cops following them

"Lower your weapons!" An officer yelled and they all get out of the cars

"Show me those hands, scumbag." Jack said to the main guy and I walked over to them pulling Val to me into a kiss and she giggled

"Hello to you to Mr. Macgyver." She says and I chuckled

* * *

"Take it slow. All right, take it slow." I said to Carlos as he got out of the truck then grabbed his crutches

"I got it, I got it. I'm fine, Mac. You don't need to be worried about me anymore."

"Clearly." I said and he walked over to his tent as Val walked over to me and I put my arm around her waist

"Mija!"

"Papa!" Adriana says and he pulled her into a hug

"Oh, mija. It's so good to see you."

"Thank you for keeping your promise. Thank you. Thank you all." Kamila tells us

"Thanks for inviting us here." I told her

"Now, you guys have to come back for a proper housewarming as soon as the house is finished, okay?" Carlos says

"Well, that housewarming party may be happening sooner than you think. Our boss is sending some of our coworkers to help with reconstruction. They'll be here tomorrow." I told him

"Thank you so much, Mac. For everything."

"Yeah, I hate to ruin the moment here, but if we don't get to the airport pronto, Hurricane Matty is going to destroy us all. That was insensitive. Carlos, that was insensitive. I'm sorry." Jack says and Val smacked him on the arm

"Considering you guys just saved my life, I think I'll give you a pass." Carlos told him

"Well, thanks."

"Guapo." Kamila's mom says coming out of the tent then looked at Jack talking to him in Spanish handing him a bag

"Mama."

"So, no one's gonna tell us what she just said?" Bozer asked

"Well, I don't think you want to know, Bozer." Val tells him

"But-but I get the gist, a-and you can tell her that, uh me gusta older women. Me gusta older women mucho." Jack adds

"Yeah, we better get out of here before he says something else we can never unhear." Val mentioned and I chuckled

"Take care, guys." Carlos told us as we start to walk away

"Safe travels."

"Since when do you like older women, Jack?" Bozer asked him as we walked and I held Val's hand

"I like all women, Bozer. I don't discriminate. But I have been thinking maybe I'm fishing in the wrong pond. You know, time to get out of that kiddie pool. Start deep-sea diving for somebody more mature. Only a woman that's been around the block is fully gonna appreciate an all-around 180 guy like Jack Dalton."

"You mean 360?" Bozer and I asked at the same time

"360? Three yeah, maybe it is 360."

* * *

 **A couple days later...**

"Hey, what are you up to?" I asked Val over the phone

 _"Oh...me and Riley are hanging out."_

"Oh yeah? Sounds fun, what are you two doing?" I asked

 _"Lunch, manicures, maybe some shopping."_

"Well I'll let you go, will you be home for dinner?" I ask her

 _"Definately."_

"Ok, I love you." I tell her

 _"I love you too. See you later."_ She says and hung up then I put my phone down and watched her get out of her car then walked up the steps to a house and saw an old lady answer the door, they hugged then Val went inside and the door shut. I sighed then started my car and drove off heading home.

After I got there I walked over to the desk in the living room searching through the drawers but didn't find anything so I sat in the chair and tapped my fingers on it, "Come on Mac, she wouldn't just hide something in plain sight." I said to myself then thought about it before getting up and walked into the kitchen but then I heard a faint beeping sound. I listened closely and followed it to the basement door, I opened it and walked down the steps hearing the beeping get a little louder then walked over to the spare bedroom door and opened it then turned the light on.

I saw a desk with two computers set up on it with a board next to it and I walked over seeing a picture of Murdoc on it then next to it was Cassian, I sighed and walked over to the computer that was beeping turning it on but saw a log in screen. I sat down in the chair and looked at it thinking then typed in a guess but it didn't work, I tried different things I could think of, her grandparents names, her mom's name, our wedding day, my birthday, her birthday, the date we started dating, the day I proposed, but came up with nothing. I sighed and leaned back in the chair and glanced over at the board then leaned forward again trying Cassian's birthday but it didn't work, the day she started her visits with him, nothing, then I thought about it and typed in another date, the day Murdoc took Cassian and it unlocked showing one screen with a facial recognition software running and the other was information on the old lady I saw today with her and I read the name.

"What the.."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Hey, I'm home!" I yelled walking into the house and put my keys down, "Mac?" I asked and walked towards the kitchen but then saw him sitting in the living room, "Hey, so I was thinking we could..." I started to say but stopped as I saw all the stuff I had on the board downstairs sitting on the coffee table in front of him, "Mac?"

"What is all this?" He asked and I sighed

"Ok, I um.."

"Val," He said cutting me off, "What is all this?" He asked again

"I was trying to find Murdoc, that's everything that I had on him so far." I told him and he sighed

"I see. And this?" He asked putting the picture of my grandmother on the table.

"That's umm," I began to say and sat down, "That's my grandmother, Murdoc's mom." I told him and I saw the look in his eyes, anger, hurt, disappointment, and I felt even worse now that I was the one who put that there.

"Why...why didn't you tell me? Why did you hide it?"

"I don't know," I told him and he scoffed then stood up, "Because I knew the stress you were under trying to figure out how to find your dad I didn't want to burden you with this. Plus I knew you would have told me it was dangerous and I..."

"Yeah Val I would have, because it is and I wouldn't have even known about it until I followed you today," He says and I looked at him, "What if Murdoc found a way to see that you were trying to find him? Hmm? He shot you once when he took Cassian and who knows what he would do if he found out you were seeing his mom!" He yelled and I looked at him in shock, I've never seen him yell like this, especially at me, "Why Val? Why would you risk your life like this?"

"Because I wanted to find my brother, okay? I want to bring him home where he will be safe." I told him standing up as he put his hands on his hips.

"Then what does she have to do with this?" He asked indicating to the picture.

"While I ran the software for facial recognition I did some digging, I knew Murdoc's father died years ago but I found out she was still alive and went back to her maiden name so I thought I would get to know her and maybe see if she had heard from Murdoc recently." I tell him and he scoffed then out his head down, "Look I know it is risky I get that and I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I just...look I can't give you a reason that won't sound like an excuse but believe me when I say that I'm sorry."

"You are risking your life for this Val. It's one thing me trying to find my dad but yours is a cold hearted assassin who has tried to kill you once already, almost killed me and everyone at Phoenix and killed your grandparents and your mom." He says and I felt a pain in my heart, "Do you get it that if he finds out you're doing this he is gonna come after you? Or her?" He asked and pointed at the picture.

"I know."

"Then why are you doing it?" He asked

"Because she's my grandmother, the only real family I have left despite who her son is."

"I just...I can't believe you hide this from me. Especially after knowing the trust issues I'm having with Matty." He told me

"I know and I'm sorry." I said walking over to him but he backed up and I looked at him shocked and hurt.

"I just...I need to clear my head." He told me and walked to the door grabbing his keys.

"Mac," I said but he opened the door and walked out, "Mac!" I yelled but he closed it and I put my hand over my mouth and closed my eyes feeling tears fall out.

* * *

"I shouldn't have lied to him Riley." I told her as we sat on my couch later that night. Mac still hadn't come home but Riley got a text from Jack that Mac was over at his place for the night, "It was so stupid of me and he's right, it's risky and with his trust issues with Matty I shouldn't have hid it."

"Well I hate to pick sides but yeah he is right Val." She says and I sniffled then looked at her, "But just give him some time, let him cool down and it will all be ok." She told me and I looked over at the table next to the couch that had Mine and Mac's wedding photo on it.

"I just wanted my brother home, and I wanted to get to know her." I said and looked down at my hands then felt Riley pull me into a hug.

"I know Val, I know." She says running my back and I felt tears fall out of my eyes again.


	23. Chapter 23

**You can run, but you can't hide**

 **A/N: Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long, I got distracted writing a story for Supernatural. My netflix is on hold until I get paid so I'll work on some updates for this story. Hope you all enjoy :)**

It's been 2 days since me and Mac had our fight, the day after it happened I took the computers and board out of the basement and got rid of them, wrote a letter to my grandma lying and telling her that I was gonna be super busy with work so I wasn't gonna see her for a while. Mac was right, seeing her, trying to find Murdoc, it was dangerous and I can't risk my life like that, or his. I sat at the counter playing with my ring as I finished up my cereal when my phone rang, I looked at it and saw it was Mac. My heart leaped, we hadn't really talked in much except when he came back to grab some more clothes to stay at Jack's.

I calmed my heart down and took a breath before answering, "Hi." I said and there was a pause, "Mac?" I asked and there was another pause.

"Hey." He answered and I smiled

"Hi." I repeated and again there was a pause,

"Umm..." We both said at the same time

"Oh. You go first." I tell him

"Listen, Val. I've been thinking, a lot and um..." He says and my heart starts racing from worry and panic, "Can we talk?"

"Yeah, yeah, I-I would like that." I said with a smile and closed my eyes.

"Ok, well um, me and Jack are going to the race car track in a bit so maybe we can grab coffe after?"

"That sounds great." I tell him and once again smiled

"Hey man, come on let's go." I heard Jack tell him in the background

"Yeah coming. Um.."

"It's ok, go. We'll talk later." I said and looked at my ring

"I'll call you when we're done."

"Sounds good." I said

"Bye." He says and I felt a little bit of pain

"B-Bye Mac." I tell him and hung up, "I love you." I sighed and set my phone down

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"You hear that? Darrell Waltrip. Rusty Wallace. Jimmie Johnson. If you listen close, - you can still hear them there." Jack tells me as he laid on the track with his ear to the ground.

"That's amazing. I didn't know that you were blessed with the ability to hear into the past." I said to him sarcastically

"Look, I got a lot of gifts you don't know about. You go ahead and mock me. This is, this is hallowed ground right here, dude."

"Hey! Hey! Get off the track now!" One of the crew members yells and I hear the sound of a car coming towards us.

"Unless you want to become part of this hallowed ground, I suggest you listen to what he says." I tell him grabbing the back of his coat and he sees the car coming, "See?" I asked him and he jumped up as the car drove by. Jack held up his phone to record then the car came back around to us and stopped then the driver got out as we walked over.

"Aw, man. Did you see the splits? You were right about turn three. I can't believe taking it on the inside actually dropped my time." The driver says to me

"You know, normally it wouldn't, but since air resistance is proportional to the square of the velocity, going high into the wall of wind would've increased your drag through the turn and then slowed you down."

"You shaved two hundredths of a second off my best lap time on this track. Sure you don't want to come pit for me?" He asked me and I laughed

"Ah, man. Travis, I'd love to, but my day job keeps me pretty busy, unfortunately."

"Change your mind, you let me know. Not many people understand fluid dynamics well enough to disagree with me on how to maximize velocity through a turn and be right." He says to me

"Travis, I hate to ask. But it's my lifelong dream to get behind the wheel of 850 horses. You think I could just sit in her for just a sec, - take some, take some selfies?" Jack asked him

"Why just sit? Wouldn't you rather take her for a spin?"

"Take her for a spin? You mean drive it?" Jack asked

"Get in, man." Travis told him and Jack walked over to the car with a big smile on his face.

"Oh, so much speed." Jack says then struggles to get in

"You, uh, you okay there?" I asked him

"Yeah, I got a little technical problem. I think it's these skinny jeans, man." He aid and my phone chimed

"Uh-oh. Just got a text from Matty."

"No. No, no way. No-no-no text from Matty, not right now. No way. Nothing is gonna stop me from living out my childhood fantasies." He tells me

"Okay. And I'm just quoting here, 'Something crashed in the Nevada desert and we cannot identify what it is.'"

"Matty found a UFO?" He asked me

"Yeah, but you.."

"No, no, no. I-I Can I take a rain check on this big boy?" He asked Travis

"Yeah. Anytime, sure." He tells Jack who tries to get out but almost falls and Travis catches him

"Whoa, whoa. Okay, okay. I got you, I got you."

"We'll rain check." Jack tells him and stands up, "Yeah. To be continued."

"Okay. We'll see."

* * *

"What do you think we're talking about here? Huh? One of them big musical suckers like Close Encounters of the Third Kind?" Jack asked me as we walked through the doors of Phoenix, "Or no. Ooh! Ooh! One of those, one of those fighters, yeah, from Independence Day. Or-or, maybe, maybe, maybe a Cylon Raider, all metal skin, gooey inside, ooh. What do you think? What do you think?"

"I think it's probably the same thing I've told you a hundred times since we left the track: it's man-made. It veered off course."

"No, no, that Listen, listen." He says and stopped me, "That's what they want you to believe. Don't be brainwashed, buddy. You're too smart for that. If I see Tommy Lee Jones or Will Smith coming up to me with that mind-erasing flashy thing, I'm clamping these peepers tight shut like this. I'll make myself pass out." He says and I started walking but bumped into someone and I saw that it was Val.

"Oh, sorry." She says and gave a small smile then looked at Jack before heading into the war room.

"Oh man. Talk about awkward." Jack tells me and I looked at Val as she stood there, "Did you call her?" He asked me

"Yeah um...we made plans to talk."

"It's gonna be ok man." He told me giving my shoulder and pat then we headed in.

 **Val POV...**

"Well, it took you long enough, blondie. I was beginning to think you accepted that job pitting for Travis Long." Matty says to Mac as him and Jack stood in the door way, I gave him a quick glance.

"How did you know that he offered me a job?" He asked her

"I know everything. Now get in here."

"Yes, ma'am." He says and walked in, I saw him look at me but I looked away.

"Uh where do you think you're going?" Matty asked Jack

"In here to hear your briefing on finally making contact with an alien life-form."

"Nope. You're not assigned to this." She tells him

"Not not assigned? Now wait a minute, Matty, I just passed up the opportunity to drive a real live NASCAR 'cause you said there'd be a real live UFO. So-"

"So what?" She asked him

"Well, i-if you didn't send for me, why am I here?"

"You were Mac's ride." She told him and I gave a light chuckle

"His ride? Look, this mission has Jack Dalton written all over it." Jack says and Matty shuts the door on him then turned on the privacy glass and I smiled a little

"36 hours ago, a mysterious object was spotted streaking through the sky over the Nevada desert. Civilian reports of a UFO were initially dismissed, but then a local rancher stumbled upon a crash and found the object. Cops were called in, then the military, who quickly retrieved the object and brought it to a lab for analysis." Matty informed me and Mac.

"So what is it?" Mac asked her

"Nobody knows. The military has their top scientists on this, but we still don't know what it is, who made it or why it fell from the sky, which is why they've reached out to Phoenix for help."

"So you want us to go in and get it?" I asked her and Mac looked at me, _Great_ "Do we know anything about this thing? Do we even know what it looks like?" I asked

"No. The military is keeping a very tight lid on this. Look, everything that they've told me, I've just told you. Which is why I'm bumping up both of your clearances to give you temporary access to everything that I have. So you don't have to go through me for approvals." She says and it gives me a thought

"I'm guessing there's a clock on this one?" Mac asked her

"Yes. Look, we don't know what this thing is, but we expect that someone's gonna come looking for it and we better know what it is before they ask for it back." Matty tells us and we start to leave, "And guys?"

"Yeah?" Mac asked

"Be careful."

"Aren't we always?" Mac asked her

"No. But I'm hoping this time will be different." She says and we leave.

* * *

"I see you're not wearing your dad's watch." I point out trying to break the ice as we stand in the elevator of the facility in Nevada

"Well, no. I put it up on eBay."

"Mac, I um I know it's been tough, but giving up is not something I've ever seen you do." I tell him and he looks at me, "You sure about this?" I asked him

"Oh, yeah." He says and I give him a look then he looked away

"I mean, not really. You know what? If my dad really wanted me to find him, he would just pick up the phone and call me like a normal person, not send me cryptic messages or sneak weird presents under the Christmas tree. If he wants to talk, he knows where to find me." He says and we reach our floor, "Dr. Herman. I'm MacGyver. This is Val." Mac introduced.

"Look, let's be clear. We're not going to be friends. Our superiors, in their infinite wisdom, believe a combination of new school and old school will yield results more quickly. And I'm sure you're both the brightest bulbs at whatever absurdly named agency they pulled you from, but I've been back-engineering recovered technology for over 20 years, so-"

"Doc. Just here to help, okay?" I tell him

"Great. Then keep quiet and try and stay out of my way. I'm briefing the secretary of defense in four hours and I need to focus, not babysit a couple of kids."

"Einstein wrote the Annus Mirabilis papers when he was 26 years old, so maybe give us a chance? Another two sets of eyes couldn't hurt." Mac says to him

"Guess we'll find out." The doctor said and we walked over to the table that the device was on and I looked at it

"Whoa." I say and he looks at me with concern, "I'm not gonna touch it." I reassured him then looked at it again.

"Okay. No visible seams, so no way to determine how it was made or what it does." Mac pointed out

"Jack is gonna be pissed he missed this." I said

"Yeah. What tests have you done so far?" Mac asked the doctor who pointed at the board as I go to my bag and pull out Riley's computer that she loaned me, "You're gonna run an optical emission spectroscopy test?" Mac asked as I set it on the other table

"Obviously." The doctor says and grabbed something off the table I was at while giving me a look and I looked at Mac

"It is a test that removes a small amount of material from the object by irradiating the surface with a laser, which could damage the object." Mac pointed out to him

"I'm aware."

"Right." Mac says

"But I've tried everything else and this is the logical next step."

"Y-You know what, before we fire up the laser may I suggest something?" Mac asked him walking over to the device and I followed

"Yeah, yeah."

Mac looked at him then quickly picked up the device and shook it a little as we listened, "Yeah, Yeah. There's..you hear that, right?" He asked me and I nodded

"Shaking it? That's your big idea?"

"Val, can you run a search for a DARPA project involving military situational awareness sensors suspended by weather balloons?" Mac asked me and I went to the computer.

"You're wasting my time. I already had that same idea. The file you're looking for is classified. I-I put in a request for a clearance waiver which is being fast-tracked."

"Got it." I said and Herman looked at me then Mac who was standing behind me making my heart go crazy.

"Wait. You two have the clearance?"

"I know, right? It's amazing what they let kids have nowadays." I told him and looked at Mac who was smiling then looked back at the computer.

"Unfortunately, none of those DARPA sensors look anything like our sphere here. So, lost that lead." Mac pointed out

"Well, if you don't have any more helpful ideas, maybe we can start making some actual progress." Herman says walking away

"Okay. Let's try the laser." Mac said walking with him and I turned my laptop a bit and pulled up the file search program Riley installed for me and I typed Matty's name into it. Something on the screen popped up and I pulled out my phone.

 _"Val, do you think any..."_ Bozer says answering the phone.

"Bozer, I don't have time to talk right now, okay? I need some advice."

 _"Then you came to the right place, Mrs. Macgyver. You're talking to "Dear Bozer," a "Dear Abby"-like column I wrote in high school. I was-"_

"Bozer. Again, time is a factor." I said cutting him off, "All right. So, here's the thing. Matty gave us super security clearance for this op and I kind of just used mine to look through a full CIA file for what she may know about Mac's dad." I tell him and looked over at Mac

 _"You did?"_

"Yeah. So now I have this file that could answer a lot of Mac's questions about his dad and explain Matty's involvement." I mentioned

"So, what do you need my advice for? Just give him the file."

"Well, yeah, a few hours ago, I would've. But Mac just told me he wants to move on and let the whole search-for-Dad thing go. He even put his dad's watch on eBay." I tell him

"Whoa."

"Yeah, I know. Now you see why I'm asking for advice. So do I give him the file and drag him back into his increasingly unhealthy obsession or do I let him move on and pretend like I never saw it? I mean, the reason me and Mac had that fight is because of my search for Murdoc and not telling him but this is a different situation and I have no idea what's going on with that either..."

 _"Val."_ Bozer cut me off

"What?"

 _"Your rambling."_ He told me

"Yeah, ok. Sorry."

 _"That's a tough one."_ He says

"Hey, Val, we could use another set of hands over here if you don't mind." Mac tells me from the other side of the room and I look at him.

"Yeah. Bozer, I got to go. Think about it okay?" I said to Bozer and hung up.

* * *

"Doc, before we fire up the laser, I just got to ask one more time, are you sure about this? 'Cause I'm having second thoughts." Mac says to him

"I'm not. It's my call. This is the test we're running. Now, stand back." Herman tells us and Mac moved back and we put on our safety goggles on, he turns on the laser and after a few minutes the power went out and the emergency lights came on, "Don't say it." He tells Mac

"What I.."

"What just happened, Doc?" I asked him

"Well, the laser caused the sphere to emit a powerful pulse of energy that somehow shut down everything in the lab. In technical terms, I think we just pissed it off." Mac explained and went over to Herman's computer

"Great." I mumbled

"Huh."

"What is it, Mac?" I asked him

"The laser just activated something inside the sphere."

"Is it pulsing?" Herman asked and I looked at my computer

"Yes, I see that, too. Looks like it's putting out some kind of signal." I point out

"Whatever it is, I think it just phoned home." Mac says

* * *

"Uh, I don't like the look of this, Mac." I told him watching the beacon on my computer.

"Agreed. We are not safe here. We need to leave." Mac says and started grabbing some stuff.

"What are you talking about?" Herman asked

"Take a look. Ever since you decided to zap the sphere, it's been sending out a signal with our GPS coordinates." I told him

"Which means whoever built this thing is probably gonna be coming to get it back. So if we want time to figure out who made it, we should probably get out of here." Mac tells him and draped a lab coat over the sphere after putting some chemicals on it

"Whoa! Wh-What the hell are you doing?" Herman asked him

"I'm dampening the signal. The chemicals soaking this coat will block the sphere's transmission, meaning whoever's looking for us won't be able to track us."

"Like when Schwarzenegger wrapped his head in a wet towel in Total Recall." I point out and Mac smiled at me.

"Exactly."

"I spend way too much time around Jack." I said with a smile

"I can relate. But did it work?" Mac asked me and I looked at the computer

"Yeah, like a charm. The waveform flatlined. I got no signal."

"Nice. All right, let's get out of here." Mac says and we start to pack up

"What are you doing? You can't leave. That is a piece of unidentified high technology that now belongs to the U.S. government. Y-You can't just wrap it in a wet rag-" Herman tells us and we hear gunshots

"We got to get the hell out of here." Mac said putting the device in his bag

"Probably tracking all radio traffic and cell signals, too. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I need your phone, Mac." I told him and he handed it to me, when he did the screen lit up and I saw a picture of me and him on the lock screen smiling at each other, I took the battery out and looked at Herman, "I'm gonna need yours, too." He hands me his and I take the battery out of his as well

"Is there a back way out of this place?" Mac asked him putting the backpack on

"This is a secure government facility. Our guards are more than prepared-" Herman said and we hear gunshots again outside the door

"Anything else you want to add today?" I asked him and took out my gun receiving a look from him

"Look, Doc, we don't know what this thing is or who lost it, so we don't know who's out there shooting people to get it back. I don't want to find out the hard way. So I'm gonna ask you one more time, is there a back way out of this place?" Mac asked him and gunshots went off again.

* * *

"That way." Herman tells us as we make our way out the door, "You sure that signal dampener of yours is working?"

"Yeah, as long as the coat stays soaked, they shouldn't be able to track us." Mac says and the door we just came out of opens, "But they can track us the old-fashioned way. Come on, let's go. Let's go." He tells Herman and the people shoot at us hitting the doctor so I got behind a vehicle and fired at them.

"Go!" I shouted at Mac and he went to Herman helping him up then ducked as they fired at me and I make my way to a jeep as Mac helped the doctor in and I got in the drivers side and took off.

* * *

"How's he doing back there?" I asked Mac as he sat in the back taking care of Herman

"Yeah, not great. I managed to stop the bleeding, but he's gut shot. He needs a hospital."

"Yeah, that may be hard to come by out here. Even if there was a hospital nearby, those guys know they wounded one of us. It'd be the first place they check." I point out

"Right."

"So where we going?" I asked him

"Uh You know what? Keep heading south on that road right there. And turn off your headlights. If they have air support, they're gonna spot us."

"You want me to drive with the headlights off out here?" I asked

"We don't have a choice, but if you keep your hands steady, this is a straight shot to Groom Lake."

"Groom Lake? Why does that sound familiar?" I ask

"It's a military base, top secret, fully operational, lots of medics and armed guards who can keep out just about anything. Should be safe there."

"You're talking about Area 51." I said to him

"The one and only."

"Jack is gonna be pissed he missed this." I chuckled then steam came out of the engine

"That's assuming we make it there."

* * *

"Think you can fix it?" I asked him as he lifted the hood

"Bullet hole in the radiator? Probably. But the head gasket that melted when the engine overheated? Not unless you want to watch me make a forge and start smelting metal."

"You lost me at smelting. So what are we gonna do?" I asked and we see a helicopter in the distance.

"Considering they're doing a sector by sector grid search for us and we can't call AAA, I think we're heading to Area 51 on foot."

* * *

"You got it?" Mac asked me as we start to take the cloth top off the the Jeep

"Yeah." I said and we took the parts that went over the tires off and I hand him another part from the Jeep, "Got it?"

"Yup." He says and I took out the seat belts and we assembled the make shift stroller to put Herman in.

"Is it gonna work?" I asked Mac

"It's gonna have to." He said and we got Herman in it, "All right, we're moving out." He says and we start walking while pulling him and let me tell you it wasn't easy.

"How you doing back there, Doc?" I asked him

"I'd love to say my condition is improving, but it's not. And all I'm doing is slowing you down."

"Abandoning people in the desert is not what we do. We're gonna get through this together." Mac told him

"Is he always this optimistic?" Herman asked me and I smiled

"Mr. Can-do? You bet." I said and gave Mac a small smile.

* * *

"Mac, look." I told him and we see a shooting star, I never really wished on them before but I looked at Mac

"Yeah, I see it." He says and we shared a look, I gave him a small smile then looked forward.

"You know, I may not have a lot of memories of my mom but the one thing I do remember is that we would sit outside at night when I wasn't feeling good or she had just got off work and we would cuddle under a blanket then just look out at the stars until I fell asleep. My grandma did the same thing with me after she died and told me that my mom used to think that shooting stars were alien spaceships passing by" I mentioned with a chuckle.

"Maybe they were."

"Oh, come on, you don't really believe that, do you?" I asked him

"I do. Most scientists do. There's 20 trillion stars out there, most of them with planets. It's statistically impossible for life not to exist. That doesn't mean that aliens have ever visited Earth, though. No matter what Jack has told you about faster-than-light travel." He says and I laughed

"Sorry to interrupt. Are you sure we're going the right way?" Herman asked us

"Yeah, I mean I mean, I was before you asked me that." Mac says and I looked at him

"What?"

"Well.." He said and I sighed

"Guys, we got to stop." I tell him and we stopped then I stepped out from the stroller, "Much as I don't want those guys to catch up to us, I don't want to be lost in this desert. I'd say we should stop and ask for directions, but you know."

"Maybe we can ask the stars."

"Celestial navigation." I said and looked up

"Yes."

"Uh, am I to believe you just happen to have a sextant on you?" Herman asked him

"Not, but if you give me a minute." Mac says and stared to work

"Okay, let's say you can make one. But you'd still need to know the coordinates of Area 51 to have any hope-" Herman started to say

"37 degrees, 14 minutes and six seconds north by 115 degrees, 48 minutes and don't look at me like that. I was a really dorky kid, I know." Mac says to me as I smirked at him

"So for those of us who didn't major in advanced abstract dorkery, what's a sextant, again? And, with the least amount of sciencey words possible, please?" I asked him

"I can try. A sextant is an ancient navigational tool used by sailors to chart their course through the night sky. All we got to do is measure the angular distance, of a few well-known stars, do a little math, obviously, and we should be able to calculate our exact location. But I need a watch. What am I doing?" Mac says and Herman handed him his watch

"Where'd you learn how to do all this?" Herman asked him but Mac stared at the watch

"My dad taught me." He says and I looked at him, "Okay, we are approximately 37 degrees, 12 minutes north by 115 degrees 47 minutes west. And if Polaris is there, that means we go-"

"That way." Him and Herman said at the same time and I chuckled

"You guys are so cute. All right, let's get out of here before bad guys come and kill us." I tell them and we get back to pulling Herman.

* * *

Mac opened the door to Area 51 as I supported Herman but it looked abandoned, "Hello? Uh, hello?!" Mac called as we walked through into the building

"Not the welcome I was expecting." I pointed out

"Yeah. Where is everyone?"

"If either of you make a joke about alien abductions-" Herman started to say

"Shh. You hear that?" Mac asked and I hear men shouting

"Yeah. Yeah, I hear it." I tell him

"All right, this way." Mac says and we walk into an office following the noise and came up on another door, I went over to it holding up my gun but Mac stopped me and picked up a stapler

"Really?" I whispered to him and he shrugged then I opened the door and he went in first, we see two military guys sitting there with game controllers

"Who are you?" The one asked

"How'd you get in here?" The other asked as well

"Uh, I'm MacGyver, this is Val, Dr. Herman. We are being chased by a group of armed men, and they're not that far behind us. He needs your medical team, he's wounded. And I need to speak to your C.O., ASAP." Mac told them

"Um We don't have a medical team here, or a C.O. Only personnel currently stationed at this facility is u-us." The one guy told us

"What? What how-how is that even possible?" Mac asked

"That's classified."

"Well, our security clearance is high enough to give you both a nosebleed. So why don't we just cut the formalities and you guys tell us what's going on here." I said to them

"Okay, well, I guess the brass got tired of everybody knowing where we test our new jets, so eight months ago, everything and everyone in Area 51 got moved to a new location."

"So you're telling me there's no doctors on this base? And the only soldiers here are.." I started to say

"The two of us."

"So the backup we thought was here isn't. Which means we are completely on our own." Mac pointed out to me and I nodded my head.

"Yeah."

* * *

"That's all you got to defend this place? Two pistols and a can of Mace?" I asked the guards looking in the cabinet

"Things have really quieted down since they took everything offsite. The last excitement we had was, like, what, a month ago?"

"Y-Yeah, some tourist managed to make it past the ground sensors, take a picture of the front gate. All it took to get rid of him? A little harsh language."

"Okay. Do you guys at least have a decent medical kit around here? If I don't get him antibiotics soon, he's gonna go septic. We'll worry about this later." Mac told them then there was a beeping noise

"Whoa. Somebody just tripped a whole bunch of our perimeter sensors." The one guard says

"That must be our friends." Mac said

"And I can assure you, they're not here for an alien-themed photo op." I added

"No. These guys are armed and dangerous. They will kill us on sight to get what I have in here back." Mac indicated to his back pack

"How long do we have before they're knocking at your door?" Herman asked the guards

"Uh, I'd say about 15 minutes, max."

"Is there anywhere more defensible than this hangar? Something with thicker walls, sturdier doors, no windows? We have to hole up somewhere until help arrives." Mac asked

* * *

"Why is there a morgue in Area 51?" I asked them as MAc helped Herman onto the bed in the room

"For this." The one guard says and pulls out a drawer then the other one pulled the sheet off revealing an alien and I looked at them shocked

"Say hello to Marvin." The one laughed and picked it up

"We like to give our visitors a little scare."

"Yeah, or a heart attack." I point out

"No, no, no, it's just-just rubber."

"Like your head." I mumbled

"Hey, you guys want to take a selfie? You can totally do it." The one guard asked

"Personally, I'm just interested in finding a way to stay alive until help arrives." Mac said to them

"Well, then, you're in the right place. This area is reinforced steel, and has its own security system. Nobody's getting in here."

"That's perfect." Mac says and we wheel Herman into another room.

* * *

"So what is that thing?" I heard the one guard ask Mac as he wet the coat down again and I got some pills for Herman.

"Honestly? No idea. All we know for sure is that the bad guys really want it back."

"Take two of these and promise not to die, okay?" I asked him and he nodded

"Can you guys grab the, uh, table right there, and put it up next to the door for me?" Mac asked them

"No, no, no. No, that's reinforced steel right there. Those windows? They're bulletproof. Nobody's getting in here." the one guars tells him

"Except for maybe bad guys who don't like to lose. So can we play it safe, and hedge our bets?" Mac asked them and they moved the table over then Mac began to work on making safety glasses and a torch then welded the table to the door and I noticed the coat started to move a little

"Uh, Mac?" I said to him and stood up

"Yeah." He says and he looked then walked over

"What the hell is that thing?" the one guard asked

"Still not sure." Mac says and pulled the coat off

"Whoa, whoa, Mac. What are you doing? They're gonna see the signal."

"Yeah, but I have to test a theory." He says and used the welder on the sphere making it wiggle, "I think the current flowing through my welder is somehow interacting with the sphere, causing it to vibrate." Mac said and the outer part of the sphere melted away revealing th inside of it.

"Okay, I didn't think that thing was actually from space until just now." I point out

"Oh, no, this is very much man-made. I mean, unless E.T. started labeling his microchips in Chinese and English." Mac tells me

"The metal skin must be one of the new gallium alloys that can be reshaped on the fly with an electric current. That's why the sphere doesn't have any seams." Herman says

"The electromagnetic interference from my welder disrupted the current in the sphere's surface." Mac adds

"Which changed the atomic bonds in the solid metal and made it melt into a liquid." Herman mentioned

"Exactly. I think I know what this thing is. The liquid metal skin, it allows it to reshape itself mid-flight, which means it would be radar-invisible and able to penetrate heavy armor."

"Well, that explains why it wasn't detected flying over American airspace. So, is it some kind of drone?" I asked Mac

"No. Considering it has an advanced guidance and targeting system, and room for an explosive payload, I don't think this is a drone."

"You think it's a missile." Herman tells him

"Yes. A highly sophisticated, virtually unstoppable one. Or at least a prototype."

"Something like that could change the balance of power in war zones around the world." Herman pointed out and we hear foot steps above us and the one guard turns on the camera

"That explains why your friends want it back."

"Which is why we absolutely must not let them take it." Herman says

"Okay, so I guess you better stop staring at that thing and finish welding that door, right, Mac?" I asked him and he grabbed the welder moving it and the skin of the sphere went back around it

"Change of plans. If these guys want the sphere back so badly, well, we'll let 'em have it."

* * *

I laid on one of the drawers in the cabinet of the mourge next to the rubber alien when the door opened and Mac pulled me out, "Well, you can put this on the list of things I never want to do again." I tell him and he helped me up then went over to the one Herman was in.

"Hey, it worked, didn't it? They're in there unconscious, and we're alive."

"Mr. Can-do did it." Herman says as we wheel him outside to one of the bad guys cars then I got in the drivers seat.

"Just keep heading south, and get off at the second exit. You can't miss it. I called ahead. They're prepping an O.R. for Dr. Herman right now." One of the guards tells us.

"Thanks. I appreciate it. And I'm sorry. I know this wasn't what you expected when you woke up this morning." Mac told them

"You kidding? This is the best shift we've had in years." The guard next to my door says

"Aside from the almost dying part."

"All right, later, boys." I tell them

"Hey, wait, let's trade numbers." The guard says to me and I looked at him then forward, "I'd love to come visit you in L.A. Mine's 702-555 -" He says but I cut him off starting the engine then drove away.

* * *

"As you may have noticed, I am not a humble man. But I owe you both an apology. And my gratitude." Herman tells us and I glanced at Mac, "MacGyver, you went up against a team of armed killers with nothing but a Swiss Army knife, and survived."

"No, he didn't just survive, he kicked their butts. Don't forget that part." I tell him and smiled at Mac.

"I'm very glad Phoenix sent you both. Thank you for.."

"If you really want to thank me, do it after we get you to a hospital, and they save your life." Mac says to him

"You got it."

Suddenly there was a bright light above us and I looked around then at Mac, "Is that.." I started to ask then it moves past us and its a helicopter

"It's a Phoenix chopper." Mac said and grabbed his phone

 _"Greetings, Earthlings."_

"Hey, buddy. Sorry you missed out on all the fun." Mac told him holding the phone up

 _"Man, I'm just glad you're still alive. Though, to be honest, I am a little jealous you went to Area 51 without me."_

"Yeah. Well, look, it wasn't like I planned it this way." Mac said

"Never is."

"But listen, I do have a surprise waiting for you at the morgue." Mac says

 _"What, like an alien surprise?"_

"No. These guys are very human, and probably still very unconscious from a concussion grenade I whipped up. But they are in Area 51." Mac mentioned and I smiled

 _"Wait there's a morgue?"_

* * *

I walked downstairs after taking a shower and getting dressed then headed into the kitchen when my doorbell rang, I turned around confused and walked over to it seeing Mac through the peep hole so I opened it, "Mac, everything ok?" I asked him

"Well we never got the chance to talk so I figured I'd stop by."

"Oh, sure of course. Come on in." I tell him and moved aside as he walked in and I shut the door, "Want something to drink?"

"No, I'm good, but um..can we sit?" He asked and I nodded my head then we walked into the living room and sat down on the couch

"So.." We both said at the same time

"You go first." I told him and he sighed.

"Val, I've been thinking and I want you to know that I get why you want Murdoc found, and I get that you wanted to get to know your grandmother, ok? I do. It's just that, Murdoc is dangerous, you know that. If he found out that you what you were doing he would.." He stopped and sighed, "Val I can't lose you, I don't want to know what that would be like and these past few days have sucked. I love you, so much and to think of losing you.."

"Mac," I said cutting him off, "Trust me when i say that I am so sorry about all this and more importantly I'm sorry I hid it from you. You're right, trying to find him puts me in danger and I don't wanna do that to you, I got rid of everything, the computers, the board, all of it. I love you too, more then I can even say and I..." I said but got cut off when he put his hand on my face and kissed me. I smiled into the kiss and then we looked at each other.

"I forgive you." He says and I smiled at him then he kissed me again then deepened it while moving me to lay down on the couch and he was on top of me.

"Are you planning something Mr. Macgyver?" I asked him and he chuckled

"I have a few ideas, Mrs, Macgyver." He says and kissed me again putting his and under my shirt.

* * *

I stood at the fridge getting a case of beer when the front door opened and I saw Jack walk in with Marvin

"Oh, no, you stole Marvin?" I asked him

"Stole? "Stole" is a little harsh. What, I look like a thief? No, I prefer to think of if more as he chose to come with me. Didn't you?" He asked it and I shook my head, "Yeah, see there? Did you tell Mac about the file yet?" Jack asked me in a whisper

"No, not yet. We were waiting on you. Figured we should do it together."

"Yeah. Yeah, let's do this. Him, too?" I asked indicating to Marvin as I carried the beer outside

"Oh, hell yeah. Let's go." Jack says and we walk outside to the fire pit in the backyard of the house and I sat down next to Mac who gives Jack a look, "What are you looking at me like that for?"

"Well, I just got a call from Travis Long. Something about you flipping his car." Mac told him

"I didn't flip his...you know, Travis is blowing that whole incident way out of proportion."

"So there was an incident? An incident where you got banned from the track?"

"I didn't get banned as much as I got an invitation to never come back." Jack says and sat down.

"We need to drink to that." Mac said grabbing a beer for Bozer then himself and wrapped his arm around me as I stared at the fire, "Okay Jack's got an alien in a NASCAR helmet, and you guys look like you're at a funeral. What's up?" Mac asked and I looked at him

"We got something we need to tell you, Mac." Bozer tells him

"Okay, so here it is. Matty and I got into it today. Full-on. Man, it-it it wasn't pretty. She knows I broke into her house looking for intel on your old man. And when I asked her point-blank if she knew him, she wouldn't answer." Jack explained

"But we've known for months that Matty's been hiding secrets about my dad. Look, I've come to terms with the fact that I'm never gonna know why she was investigating my father. Just like I'll never know why he took off when I was a kid, or why he stayed away for so long. So, I've been doing a lot of thinking and it's over I'm done wasting my time and energy searching for someone who doesn't want to be found. It's time to move on."

"Look, Mac, if you want to move on, I support you we all do. But before you make that decision, you need all the facts. You should know I used my upgraded security clearance to look through Matty's file on your dad. And well.." I started to tell him and he looked at me as I handed him the flash drive.

"Mac if there's still a part of you that wants to know the truth, the answers are right there." Bozer adds


	24. Chapter 24

**You can run, but you can't hide**

 **A/N: Lilly, thank you so much for the review. Sorry it took me so long, got distracted with another story lol. I'll keep going with this one as much as I can so I hope you enjoy :)**

"Penny for your thoughts?" I asked Mac as we laid in bed together with my head on his chest as he held my hand.

"I've just been thinking a lot lately, about everything Matty's lied about and I...I don't know if I can do it anymore."

I moved my head and looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I don't know if I can work for someone I don't trust anymore."

"So..." I began to ask him

"Val, if I made a decision that could change everything, would you stand me?"

"Mac of course I would." I tell him and he kissed me then I laid my head back down on his chest, "We'll get through anything."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

 _Okay, here's a tip most horror aficionados already know: an open door is never good,_ "Hello?" _But that's only in the movies, right? I mean, the guy who lives here could've just left it open. Or he could be dead somewhere, after a violent struggle for his life. Oh, and in case you're wondering what I'm doing here, let me start from the beginning_

 **Some Restaurant...**

"Mac? What are you doing here?" Matty asked me as I walked over to her table at the restaurant and sat down

"We need to talk."

"Okay. It's gonna have to wait. I'm about to start a meeting."

"With Deputy Director Michaels of the FBI's L.A. field office? Yeah, he's not coming. I cancelled your lunch." I told her and pulled out the flash drive, "Do you know what's on this? Probably not, I'll tell you: it's the complete, unredacted dossier you compiled on my father."

"If that's true, do you have any idea how many laws you're breaking by being in possession of it?"

"Oh, yeah. But I'm not here to talk about what I've done. This is about what you've done. You investigated my father for months, Matty. Ran surveillance on him, tapped his phones, had him followed. You even interrogated him yourself, for a week. But when I asked you if you knew my father, you lied to my face. And now, you're gonna tell me why." I tell her

"MacGyver, I can neither confirm nor deny any details related to any investigation that I may have been a part of during my tenure at the CIA."

"That's it? That's your answer?" I asked her

"It's the only answer I can give you."

"Well, then, this is gonna be a lot easier than I thought. I cannot work with someone I do not trust, so I quit." I said

"I'm sorry, Mac, but you can't quit. Not like this."

"Just did." I told her and stood up

"You can't quit to me, because I don't have final say. Oversight does. So if you really want to quit, you need to tell him, in person."

"How do I find Oversight?" I asked her

* * *

 _And that is how I ended up in this ransacked McMansion._

I hear a whirring sound coming from another room and I walked over to it and saw some guy with his back to me so I walked over to him, "Wouldn't take another step if I were you." He says and I stopped, "That weak floorboard is actually a pressure plate attached to an IED."

"You're lying."

"Maybe. Take another step and we'll see. What do you want?" He asked me

"Director Webber sent me here to speak with Oversight."

"Oh, then, you got him." The guy says and turned around, I couldn't believe it.

"Dad?"

"Duck!" He says and I do then someone shoots at us then my dad grabbed something and threw it at the guy knocking him out then opened the safe he was working on, grabbing something out of it then grabbed my arm, "Time to go! Is it true?"

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"It is true? Did he quit?" Jack asked Matty as we walked into the war room

"Excuse me. I'm preparing for a meeting."

"Then answer the question and we'll let you get back to it. Did Mac quit?" Riley asked her

"He tried. But I don't have the authority to accept his resignation."

"You're the director of the Phoenix Foundation. If you don't have the authority, who does?" I asked her

"Oversight. And that's exactly who I sent Mac to see."

"Then, where the hell is Oversight?" Jack asked

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"He's still behind us." Dad tells me as I weave between the cars on the road

"Appreciate you pointing out the obvious. So you're Oversight, huh? My father, who I've been searching for for years, has been my boss the whole time, and you didn't think about maybe stopping by and saying hi?" I asked him and my back window gets shot at

"You might want to accelerate." He tells me

"Yeah. Thanks for the advice, Dad." I said and accelerated, "So how long have you been in charge of Phoenix?"

"Since before it was called "Phoenix." Before it was DXS." He tells me and the person chasing us pulls up next to us.

"Hold on." I said and swerved away from him turning down a different road, "So who the hell is that guy?" I asked him

"Someone who wants to kill me."

"Yeah, no kidding, and what is that? Some sort of encryption key?" I asked indicating to my dash that he was writing on

"Eyes on the road, Angus." He tells me and I hit the brakes stopping the car

"We're not going anywhere until you answer my questions." I tell him

"You really want to do this now?"

"Yeah, maybe it means more to me than getting shot." I point out

"Look, son, I understand how you feel, but now's not the time for a Q and A."

"Fine. If you won't give me some answers, maybe this guy can." I tell him and put my car into reverse and started to drive backwards towards the bad guy.

"Angus, what are you doing?"

"Improvising." I told him

"Son. Son Son? Son!" My dad yelled and the guy swerved then crashed into another vehicle that was on the side of the road then I put the car into drive and drove up to it getting out and walking over to him following my dad. He opened the door and the driver tried to hold up his gun but my dad grabbed it, "Yeah, I wouldn't move if I were you. You hear that raspy, sucking sound every time you inhale? That's because both your lungs are punctured, probably by cracked ribs, due to poor driving decisions. You move even an inch, and your lungs will collapse. Deprived of oxygen, you'll lose consciousness in three minutes, and four minutes after that, you'll be dead. So stay just like that, and we'll call for help."

"How could you know he punctured both lungs?" I asked him

"I don't know he punctured any lungs, but he doesn't know that." My dad says and pulled out his phone, "I need a pickup. I'm at a construction site near 6th and Kirkwood. Subject is injured, and immobilized. Thank you, Director Webber." He says then hung up and I looked at him.

"Matty knew where you were the whole time, and neither of you bothered to tell me?" I asked him

"Look, son, I realize we have a lot to discuss, but I'm in the middle of something that is extremely time sensitive, and frankly, I could use your help. If you came along, we'd have time to talk. What do you say? You up for a little road trip with the old man?" He asked me

* * *

As I knelt down siphoning the gas from another car I looked at my dad, "What is it?"

"Nothing."

"You're lying." I told him

"I'm just surprised that you left home with a half-empty tank of gas. What happened to the Boy Scout motto? Be prepared."

"I came prepared, prepared to quit the Phoenix, not go on a mission. And I quit the Boy Scouts a few months after you left, by the way." I point out

"Yeah, I know. Your grandfather told me. He helped me keep tabs on you. I was never really gone, son. I mean, you think you ended up working for me by accident? I was always in the background, nudging you in the right direction."

"The background. I think you mean hiding, for reasons you still haven't explained." I tell him and hear a car pull up then saw it was Jack and Val, "Jack? Does he know, too? Huh? Or Val?" I asked my dad as they got out of the car

"Uh, - hello." Jack said

"What are you two doing here?" I asked them as they walked over

"Well I'm guessing Agent Dalton and Valarie heard you quit, and when you didn't return their calls and texts, he asked Ms. Davis to track your phone." Dad says

"That, uh, that's exactly what happened. Who's this?" Val asked standing by me

"Val, Jack, meet Oversight."

"Oversight. Well, it's nice to finally meet you." Jack said reaching his hand out

"Also, my dad." I added and Val looked at me then him

"Wait. Seriously?" She asked as Jack took his hand back

"It's good that the both of you are here. We could use you. But we got to get on the road, right now."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, the road to where, exactly?" Jack asked him

"Yeah, Dad. What's this about?" I asked

"Jonah Walsh. No time for a full brief, but here are the necessary details he's..

"A highly trained former U.S. operative, number six on Interpol's most wanted list." Val said cutting him off and he smiled

"Exactly and I have his current location, because of this." Dad said and held up the menu

"Thanks to a ratty takeout menu from a Chinese restaurant?" Jack asked as I grabbed the menu

"No, it's not just a takeout menu, this is a cipher."

"This is why he was trying to kill us? To keep you from getting this." I point out

"Correct. Walsh and his terrorist partners have been living in the shadows for years, using encoded communications our cryptologists haven't been able to crack."

"Because he was using this takeout menu as a key for a one-time pad." I said

"One-time pad. What's a, what's a one-time pad?" Jack asked

"It's a century-old technique that's still the gold standard for unbreakable encryption. What did it tell you?" I asked my dad

"Where Walsh is hiding."

"And where's that?" Val asked

"Mexico."

* * *

"Hey!" Jack shouted at the guy in the warehouse after kicking the door open and the guy started to run

"Stop!" My dad yells and the guy went out a door, I see him run by the windows so I jumped through one and tackled him. He pulled a knife out of his shoe and went to stab me but I moved then he tried again and I moved, then we got up and he kept swinging it at me and I dodged him then I grabbed his wrist holding him back from stabbing me.

"Drop it!" I heard Val yell then saw her point her gun at him, "I said drop it! Turn around!" She tells him and the guy dropped the knife then I turned him around, my dad took the guys belt off and wrapped it around his wrists as Val moved over to me silently asking if I was ok and I reassured her that I was.

"Ooh, I've seen this little trick before." Jack says

"I like to say I taught my son everything I know." My dad told him looking at me

"That'd just be another lie, though, wouldn't it?" I asked him and looked at Val

"Okay, cocaine cowboy, my good friend and his very negligent father are gonna ask you some questions and I suggest you listen up." Jack tells the guy

"We're looking for Jonah Walsh. Where is he?" My dad asked the guy but he stayed quiet

"Hey, hey. Maybe no hablo ingles." Jack pointed out and my dad asked the question again in Spanish but the guy chuckled, "Oh, man, let me have a crack at him. Come on." Jack says and my dad head butted the guy, "Oh, damn."

"Ouch." Val says and I looked at her with a small smile. Then my dad asked again and the guy didn't say anything until my dad went to head butt him again

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you."

"Yeah, well, look who speaks perfect English." Val pointed out

"I spoke to him two days ago. He was heading south."

"Try to be more specific?" I asked him

"In the mountains."

"In the mountains. A lot more specific than that, dumbass." Jack told him and he started to laugh, "What is so funny? You want to let us in on the little joke, pal?"

"You're gonna be the joke, pal."

"Really? How's that?" Val asked him

"When Luis Gomez finds out you're looking for his new partner."

"Who?" Jack asked

"Luis Gomez, the head of La Ola cartel." I mentioned

"Walsh is working for a drug cartel. What is he doing with them?" My dad asked him and he didn't say anything, "If you don't know, then you're of no use to us." He said and punched the guy knocking him out.

"Good God. You-you sure he's, uh, not my dad instead of yours?" Jack asked me and I walked over to my dad

"What's going on? What did Walsh do to you?"

"Well, for 13 years, he watched my back in the field, kept me safe. Walsh isn't just some terrorist. He's my former partner and at one point, my closest friend. Then one day without warning, he went to the other side. I've been hunting him ever since and I'm not gonna stop until I lock him in a concrete box." My dad said and walked away

"I like your style." Jack called after him as they walked over, "So, so, basically, this is like you hunting for me." Jack pointed out

* * *

"If the intel from our unconscious friend is right, this is where we'll find Walsh." My dad points out on a map

"Remote. Defensible. Perfect place to hide a large-scale drug operation." I mentioned

"Yeah, a little too perfect. Only one way in and one way out. Those guys are gonna see us coming from a mile away on that road." Val says

"Who said anything about a road?" My dad asked her and she looked at me.

* * *

"How are you doing?" Val asked me as we rode behind Jack and my dad on the horses we stole.

"I'm not sure."

"Well I'm not sure if this will help or not but at least you found him ya know? Now maybe you can get the answers you've been looking for." She said and I smiled at her

"Always the optimistic."

"That's why you married me." She said with a smile then I see Jack move back towards us and Val moved forward up to my dad.

"Now, we didn't just spend the last year of our lives looking for him so you can avoid him. Why don't you get up there and do some bonding real quick?" Jack asked me

"Over what? The guy's just as emotionally distant and certain of his intellectual superiority as he was the day he left."

"Well, set aside the fact that you just basically described yourself, why don't you give him a break? I don't think we're catching him on his best day. I mean, can you imagine if I went bad and you had to hunt me down?" Jack asked

"I mean, I'd catch you in, like, a day."

"A day? Yeah, you wish." He says

"At most."

"Oh, really? You really think you'd be able to catch me in just one day?" Jack asked me

"You wouldn't even see me coming."

"Yeah, okay. Well agree to disagree on that one, but I think you should stop stalling. Have some guts, cowboy. Get up there and talk to him. He's not gonna be around forever. Go on." Jack told me and I hesitated then urged my horse forward and Val moved back by Jack.

"So, Walsh, he'd watch your back in the field? Does that mean you used to do what I do?" I asked my dad

"It's a long story."

"We got nothing but time." I point out

"Walsh was my Dalton when I was first recruited."

"Recruited into what?" I asked him

"What we do, Phoenix. DXS, OPI. The name may change, but the mission never does. It's been the same since the Second World War. We were the first to put scientists and soldiers together in the field." He says and I looked back at Jack, "You two don't think your partnership was unique, do you? Who do you think pulled the strings to pair you two together in Afghanistan?"

"What, that was you?" I asked him

"Okay, now, you might've arranged the meeting, but our friendship was galvanized through hardship. We did that on our own." Jack pointed out to him

"Well, that's true."

"So what exactly happened between you and Walsh? Huh?" Val asked him

"I wish I knew. We spent years working together. One day he just left and I never saw him again. I found out months later that he went into business for himself. Decided to fight for money instead of for peace. He was one of our most talented operators. Now he's one of our most dangerous enemies."

* * *

"You all right?" I hollered back at Jack

"Yeah. Yeah. My, uh, my butt's just getting a little numb."

"Well, you want to take a break?" I asked

"No, I don't need to take a break. Okay? I'll just shift my body-weight a little bit and get the blood flowing again."

"We can take a break if you want to." My dad tells him

"Hey, people born in Texas do not need to take saddle breaks, okay? Sir Oversight. Hey, you know, while we're at it, maybe you could help me out with a little something. All this stuff that's going on with Matty, the file on you, days in interrogation, why was she investigating you?"

"Because I asked her to. I wanted to see what all the hype was about her. The interrogation was a job interview of sorts. Right after that, she became my handler." My dad mentions

"Right after that, you left home and you never came back. Was that your handler's idea as well?" I asked him

"No. That decision was all mine. When I was first recruited, I thought I could keep family and work separate. And for a while I did. But the more I worked, the more enemies I racked up. And I knew one day they'd come after me like Murdoc came after you." My dad says and I looked back at Val, I could see a little bit of anger on her face, to be honest I didn't blame her, "I'd already lost your mother. I wasn't about to risk losing you."

"Okay, so that's why you left. I'll still never understand why you left without saying good-bye." I tell him then he urges his horse and takes off

"Man, your father really doesn't like talking about his feelings, does he?" Jack asked and I see someone running on the hill

"No, look. He's got to be a spotter for the cartel." I said and the 3 of us urge our horses and run after him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." Jack says as we come up on him after he hogtied the runner

"Dalton, Valarie, sweep the perimeter. Take out any more lookouts." My dad tells them and Val looked at me before going with Jack

"Yes, sir."

"Angus and I are gonna continue to the compound."

* * *

"Angus, I understand you still have a million questions, and they deserve answers, but we just need to just get over this hill, take out a few guards, capture Walsh, and then we can sit down and have a long overdue father-son chat. Sound good?" My dad asked me as we walked to the fence of the compound

"Sounds good." I said and we look through the gate, "A few guards?" I asked him

"That's uh a few more than I was expecting."

"I have another question. If you left all those years ago to keep me safe, why did you steer me into a profession where I nearly get killed all the time?" I asked

* * *

We both take out our pocket knifes and cut a hole in the fence then went through and hid down in the bushes, "Okay. So I count over a dozen cartel soldiers just in the courtyard. Two three-man teams patrolling the fence line. Seems like there's cameras at every ground level entrance, and I'm sure if we took the time to build our own thermal camera, we'd find a few more dozen cartel soldiers on the inside." I point out to him

"Having second thoughts?"

"I'm just trying to figure out how to get in unnoticed and avoid, you know, dying." I told him and we look back at the building

"I got it. What's the only unguarded area?"

"You're not quizzing me right now, are you?" I asked him

"Well..."

"Dad, it's not like I'm trying to learn long division. If you know the answer, save us the time and tell me." I said to him and he stayed quiet, "It's always a lesson with you. Unbelievable. The only unguarded area is the roof. Happy?" I asked

"Yes. Now how do we get up there?" He asked and I looked at him, "I'm not quizzing you. I'm-I'm actually I haven't figured it out myself." He tells me and we look, "How about a scissor lift? We could make it out of, um-"

"No. Anything that we could rig together to hold our combined weight - wouldn't be stable enough to rise 20 feet." I point out

"Yeah. So we're looking for something to pull us up?"

"Yeah, quickly and quietly." I said and thought about

"An ascender rig." We both said and looked at each other

"Yeah. You know what? We could source all the parts from those vehicles right there. Guard patrols, they pass by every four minutes, so if we time the start of our ascent right, we should be able to get to the roof easily without getting spotted." I mentioned

"The only other variable are the lookouts. Unless they're neutralized, they'll notice us the moment we start rising."

"No, don't worry about that. Dalton and Val are gonna cover. They'll never see them coming." I tell him

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Buenos dias." Jack said as he knocked the guard out then grabbed his walkie, "Okay, that's four down and how many to go? Huh? How many of there are you?" He asked the guy, "Should've asked you that before I put you to sleep."

"Ya think?" I asked him

"I'm gonna borrow your machine gun. We should probably ask the next one."

"Yeah, maybe not knock him out first huh?" I asked and he looked at me

"Shut up."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

Me and my dad got all the parts we needed gathered up and started to build the lift then we both grabbed a side, "Ready?" I asked him

"Yep" He said and I hit the switch making us go up.

* * *

We walked down the stairs inside the building and headed to the basement but stopped, "Okay. That is a lot of coca leaves. Walsh and the cartel must be planning on turning this place into an industrial scale cocaine production facility." I point out and looked at a few jugs that were sitting there, "Oxandrolone? Although, I've never heard of using anabolic steroids to make cocaine. And I've got some serious questions about this gurney here." I mentioned

"Walsh and the cartel are synthesizing drugs. Just not the one you think." My dad told me and we walked into another room and I see blood and bullet holes on one wall as my dad moves over to a computer.

"What the hell is going on here?" I asked then walked over to him and he put something in the computer, "Is that Riley's decryption key?" I asked him

"Yes, it is. She's very talented, by the way. I wish she'd set up Phoenix's cyber security. Maybe we wouldn't be in this mess."

"What is all this? What are you talking about?" I asked

"I've been hunting Walsh since the day he betrayed me, but my best lead in over a decade came last year when he hacked into Phoenix and stole gigabytes of my research."

"Wait, he didn't hack into Phoenix last year." I point out

"Sure he did. You just didn't know about it. When Murdoc took over Phoenix, Walsh seized on the distraction and had his people force their way into our network. By the time we realized two people were in our system, it was too late."

"Okay, so what did he steal?" I ask

"Well, that's what I've been trying to find out the past year. Now I know. He's making KX7."

"KX...KX7, what is that?" I asked him

"It's a drug cocktail. Designed to do for soldiers what performance enhancing drugs did for Russia's Olympic athletes, and then some. KX7 increased strength and fast-twitch muscle response while dulling pain receptors in the brain. It was supposed to save lives, to keep soldiers awake, alert, able to fight, even after grievous injury."

"Why have I never heard of this?" I asked

"'Cause this is what happens to people who use it." He told me and I saw the video of two men holding another guy down as someone injected him with something and the man threw the other two off and the other one shot at him.

"And you made this drug?" I ask him

"I did. But I never tested it on anyone because all my research indicated the subject would suffer a massive heart attack within minutes of injection. The moment I realized how dangerous it was I abandoned the work."

"Well, looks like Jonah picked up right where you left off." I point out

"Indeed I did." We hear behind us as someone walked into the room we were in with 3 other men, "And the good news is, I'm getting very close. James MacGyver. It's been too long. nd is this Mini Mac? All grown up and following in your daddy's footsteps. You know, you probably don't remember me You were just a kid when we met but something tells me you're gonna remember me now." Walsh says and snapped his fingers, two of his men walked over and patted me and my dad down pulling out our pocket knifes, "Like father, like son. How cute. You know, I think you might be slipping in your old age, my friend. I've been waiting on you for hours."

"Waiting?" My dad asked him

"Oh, come on, Big Mac. The house, the safe, the menu, the code, my contact in Mexico City? What? You thought you followed a bunch of clues to get here? I left them for you. And it was a pain in the ass, to be honest, but I knew if I made it too easy, that big brain of yours would've picked up on it and spoiled my plan."

"He wants you to finish the drug." I point out

"He's got your smarts, Jimmy. You should be proud. See, KX7's still got some kinks to iron out before I can sell it, but with you back in the lab..."

"100% mortality is more than a kink, Jonah." My dad said cutting him off, "Go ahead, shoot me right now. I'm not finishing the drug."

"Ordinarily, I'd believe you, but in this case, I'm calling your bluff. You're gonna make my drug work or I'm gonna kill your boy right in front of you." Walsh says and pointed a gun at me.

* * *

"Bring in baby boy." I heard Walsh say after he led my dad into another room, "Your drug's no good to me if it kills everyone who takes it. So find a way to make it work, or you'll bury your son tonight." Walsh said and a voice came over the radio, "Sounds like your two friends have been busy. Guess I need to go say hi myself, maybe even give an extra welcome to the girl." He said and I moved forward to attack him but his guys grabbed me and he laughed, "Honestly, kid, I don't even know what you're doing here. What, you think you're gonna patch things up with Dad and go play catch? Come on. If you were my son, I never would've abandoned you. But when the professor here left you behind, it was like you didn't even exist. He never even mentioned your name again. Not once." Walsh says to me then looked at my dad and left.

"So shall we get to work?" My dad asked taking off his coat

* * *

 **Val POV...**

 _"Any word from Oversight and Mac?"_ Matty asked us as we dragged an unconscious guard out of sight.

"Nope. And we got a couple of jeeploads of cartel killers hunting us, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and say we've lost the element of surprise." I told her

"Which means we're gonna need a speedy exfil for the two Macs. Problem is, I have no earthly idea where they are. And this facility looks, uh, you know, looks pretty big." Jack added

 _"Okay, you two leave finding them to me. Just be ready to pull them out the second I have their exact location."_ Matty says

"Yeah, okay." I said

"And Val, Jack, now that you know who Oversight is, I can tell you that that man has saved my life more times than I can even count. The world needs him every bit as much as they need his son." Matty says and I look at Jack, "I'm counting on both of you to save them both.

"That's money well spent." Jack told her and hung up

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

"I'm not helping you make this stuff, even if it is the only way to save my life." I said to my dad

"Son, I have no intention of making this stuff in order to save your life."

"Gee, thanks, Dad." I tell him sarcastically

"Don't be so sensitive. I worked with Walsh for 13 years, and trust me, he's gonna kill you whether we complete this drug or not. Now, do you remember the first thing I ever taught you to build from that old electronics kit?"

"A wireless telegraph." I answered

"You think you can build one from this magnetic stirrer?"

 **Riley POV...**

"Matty, I just picked up something on the cartel's comm system. Intermittent bursts of static of two distinct lengths." I tell her walking into the war room and set my laptop down.

"Morse code. Well, that definitely sounds like a MacGyver talking. What's the message?"

"Tell Val wait for signal." I said

"Any chance you could use the bursts to triangulate their exact position?"

"Already on it. I should have coordinates for you in 30 seconds."

* * *

 **Mac POV...**

As I stood there sending the message the guard walked over to us, "The last guy never had a problem with that thing. And he never used those chemicals." He pointed out

"That's because he's an imbecile. If you don't trust me, take a look for yourself." My dad told him and held a vial up after dropping something in it causing it to flash in the guards face, I tore out the wire from the device I was using and shocked the other guard that came running in then disabled his gun.

"Okay, that's two down, but we're still trapped in here. And even if we do manage to escape this room, the place is still crawling with cartel soldiers. And I just destroyed our only means of communication, so what's next?" I asked my dad

"Haven't really figured that one out, yet."

"Man, that is really annoying. I got to stop doing that to people." I mentioned and lifted up a chemical bottle, "Hey, Dad, remember what I accidentally did to your tool-shed when I was seven?" I asked him

"I'm still not sure that was an accident, but that is a good idea, son."

* * *

 **Val POV...**

"Okay, Matty, we got the coordinates you sent. We're working on getting some wheels right now." Jack tells her as we run through the woods, "Hey, hey, what is this signal Mac's talking about?" He asked and I patted his arm and pointed towards the smoke, "Oh, wait a minute we got it."

 **Mac POV...**

"Okay, if this is the way things are going, I don't think we're gonna have time for that father-son chat, so I just have one question. Why?" I asked him

"I already told you why I left."

"No, no, if you wanted to protect me from the dangers of this life, then why did you bring me into it?" I asked

"Because even though I knew it wasn't safe for you to be near me, I-I couldn't let you go. At least this way I could be with you, watching over you."

"Dad, you weren't with me, you left me. You left me. And you know what, if you wanted to, you could have taken me with you anyway. You could have protected me from anyone." I told him

"It was me, it was me I was protecting you from! Your mother's death changed me. It made me so angry all the time. I did-I didn't know how to relate to you anymore. You were such a brilliant kid. You reminded me so much of her, and every time I looked at you, I saw her. And then I'd get angry all over again."

"Oh, I get it, so this is my fault then." I said to him a little hurt

"No! No, no, no."

"You know, 'cause I lost her, too she was my mom. I was a little kid, and I needed my father, and you weren't there!" I yelled at him

"I'm not saying I did it right. I'm just trying to tell you why I left. Why I couldn't stay."

"If you wanted to stay away, then why-why the cryptic clues? Why all the mind games? The watch, the gear. The dossier under my Christmas tree." I tell him

"I'm sorry, son, I don't know what you're talking about."

"If that wasn't you.." I started to ask and the door opened, a guard walked in and pointed his gun at us

"Let's go! Now!"

"Nobody's going anywhere." My dad said moving me behind him then suddenly a truck came smashing through the side of the building hitting the guard and I saw Val in the drivers seat with Jack next to her.

"Let's go boys." She tells us and I smiled at her

"The smoke, right? I mean, that was the signal?" Jack asked then me and my dad climbed into the bed of the truck

"Hold on." Val tells us and reversed the truck then whipped it around driving off

"In case I haven't mentioned this yet. I like her." My dad told me and I gave him a small smile then looked at Val.

* * *

"Hey, Matty." I greeted walking into the war room

"Glad you made it back, Mac. Unfortunately, Walsh escaped before our Tac Team arrived, but we hear that the head of the cartel is pretty pissed at him, so we think he's on the run." She tells me and I sit on the coffee table in front of her

"Thank you, Matty."

"For what?" She asked me

"The watch, the dossier all the bread crumbs. I know it was you. You couldn't tell me the truth about my father without violating your oath and any number of laws, so you gave me the tools to find him myself. You took an enormous personal risk because you care about me. And him."

"Mac, I can neither confirm nor deny anything pertaining to.." She started to say and I cut her off by hugging her

* * *

"Hey, you ok?" Val asked me and I walked over to her then kissed her and she wrapped her arms around my neck, "Not that I'm complaining but what was that for?"

"Sorry, I couldn't help it, you were pretty badass smashing that truck into the building. It was kind of hot." I tell her and she giggled

"I love you Angus Macgyver."

"And I love you as well, Valarie Macgyver." I said and kissed her again

"You sure about this?" She asked and I nodded my head

"Are you?"

"I'd do anything for you Mac, even this." She says and I kissed her once more

* * *

"Well, we finally found your long-lost father. You got any other relatives you want to go looking for real quick?" Jack asked me as we headed to the war room

"Honestly, I feel a little stupid spending all this time looking for my absentee father when the only family I really need has been right in front of my face all along."

"Ah, well, feeling's mutual, brother. But, you know, that's the great thing about family is it's never too late to add one more. And hey, hey, this, uh, well, this whole dust-up between your old man and Walsh Something like that could never happen to us, could it?" He asked me as we stopped walking

"Come on. Besides, if you went to the dark side, I'd just figure a way to bring you back."

"Then I would find a way to make you join me, and together we would rule the galaxy." Jack said and imitates Dart Vader's breathing, "No, no, I-I'm more of the kind of guy to be frozen in carbonite."

"I don't know, I just always thought that you were the Wookiee in all this." I point out as we start walking and he makes a wookie sound, "See what I'm saying?" I laughed and walked to the door of the war room seeing Val standing there talking to my dad.

"So, hey, listen, I'm sure you two have several decades of catching up to do, so I'm gonna bounce. Sir." He said to my dad and walked away then Val walked out and we shared a look then I walked into the room.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked my dad

"Yesterday, you came to me asking to quit Phoenix. And while I think the past 36 hours have changed a lot for both of us I need to ask if your request still stands. So, do you want to work with me or not?"

"I'm really glad I found you, and that we were able to talk about things that haven't made sense to me over the years. And as for me working here, I'll tell you the same thing I told Matty. I can't work with someone I don't trust. I'm sorry, Dad, but I can't work for you." I tell him and saw hurt on his face.

"You're quitting?"

"Effective immediately." I said and walked out of the war room heading towards the doors to the Phoenix.

 **Val POV...**

"What just happened? Val?" Jack asked me and I looked at him then the others then Mac's dad.

"Mac quit." I tell them and they looked at me in shock, "And so did I. " I said and left

* * *

"Got everything ready?" Mac asked me as we finished packing up our bags.

"Yeah, yeah I think so." I said and he walked over to me pulling me into a hug

"It'll be ok hun."

"Yes it will. For all of us." I tell him and he kissed me then we gathered up our things and headed to the airport.


End file.
